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Sikeston boys basketball breezes past rival Charleston 92-61 in SEMO Conference semifinal
SIKESTON — Energized and ready to go right from the tip, Sikeston was able to control the game in its favor against rival Charleston in the semifinals of the SEMO Conference Tournament.
The Sikeston Field House was rocking, and the third-ranked Bulldogs put on a show for the fans in attendance, to the tune of 92 points, consistent shooting, and a couple of impressive plays that ended in flushes for senior Trey Jenkins. All of that added up to a 92-61 blowout win and a chance to capture the SEMO Conference championship, on Friday night.
“Rivalry game and both teams played very hard,” Sikeston head coach Gregg Holifield said. “I think they both teams try to do more than they should and it just goes with the territory. We get in a situation where we’re trying to do more than we can, but a lot of it has to do with, I thought, Charleston’s effort tonight was really good, and I thought they were relentless and did some really good things.”
The ball never stuck in one player’s hand for very long, as it was moving from side-to-side very well, setting up good looks at the basket for the Bulldogs.
Sikeston would respond well, connecting on 13 of its 26 three-point opportunities.
Owen Long was one of two Bulldogs to record 19 points in the game, as the senior hit five of his nine attempts from deep.
Kevin Jones was the other 19-point scorer for Sikeston (4-0), after a 7-of-12 night from the floor.
“We tried to get a rhythm offensively,” Holifield said. “Our guys did a good job of moving the basketball, found the open guy. Very unselfish, I mean it’s an unselfish group, and they want to play, and they want to play well together. That’s the key, and our pressure defense normally predicates it, but I didn’t think we guarded very well, but you have to give Charleston credit. They were quick off the dribble, and we didn’t guard as well as we should have.”
Junior Payton Howard also provided a spark, shooting 6-of-10 from the field, for 16 points. He also corralled six rebounds as well.
“He’s such a great kid; he’s just as good a kid as you could ever ask to coach,” Holifield said. “He’s out there, works every day, and you never hear one word out of him. You can say he’s a good player, he’s going to get even better. There will be other colleges calling him next year.”
Parker Long — 16 points — and Jenkins — 12 points — also had impactful nights, as every Bulldogs’ starter recorded double-figure scoring.
After leading by nine points at the end of the first quarter, and 13 heading into halftime, Sikeston’s defense responded in the second half.
The Bulldogs gave up just 24 points altogether in the second half, outscoring the Bluejays 42-24 after intermission.
Going into the game, Charleston head coach Danny Farmer knew what type of team they were going up against, but in a rivalry game, anything is bound to happen.
“It’s Charleston-Sikeston, the name is what makes it important for the people and everybody that gets into it,” Farmer said. “You hit the nail on the head, rivalry game, Charleston-Sikeston. That’s what gets the people excited, but for us, as a team, we just look at it as another game. We realize that they have a great team if they shoot it like that all of the time, I don’t know who’s going to beat them.”
Turnovers were a major issue for the Bluejays on Thursday, as they committed 12 for the game.
Adding on, Farmer said that missing uncontested layups is something that they could not do to beat an offensively-potent team like Sikeston.
“Against a team like that, you can’t miss uncontested layups,” Farmer said. “We probably gave away 12 points on uncontested layups. We can do everything we can to try to stop the shots or whatever, but we messed up a few little things defensively that we can improve on through practice. But, the layups, anytime we have something that easy, we got to convert it.”
Blessin Kimble led the way for Charleston (2-3) with 15 points and eight rebounds. Kimble shot 7-of-14 from the floor as well.
Latrell Porter was the other Bluejays player to reach double-figure scoring — finishing with 10. He shot 4-of-7 from the floor and went 2-of-4 at the free-throw line also.
Playing in early tournaments to begin a new season can be a test, Holifield will tell you that. For his team, though, he understands what they need to key in on for the future.
“I thought offensively, I thought we did a good job of sharing the basketball,” Holifield said. “We still didn’t rebound as well as we need to by any stretch; we didn’t guard like we need to, but you know it’s one of those things, it’s early. You try to get through the early tournaments and try to understand your mistakes, and we’ve got a lot of work to do starting after the tournament, and we’ll become a much better defensive team. That will be a point of emphasis.”
| Charleston | 14 | 23 | 17 | 7 | — | 61 |
| Sikeston | 23 | 27 | 22 | 20 | — | 92 |
CHARLESTON (61) — Blessin Kimble 15, Latrell Porter 10, Preston Moore 9, Samuel Bledsoe 8, Javontrey Wiley 7, Evontrez Hill 5, Terridean Bogan 5, Isaiah Gillespie 2. FG 23, FT 9-13, F 10. (3-pointers: Bledsoe 2, Moore, Wiley, Hill, Bogan. Fouled out: none)
SIKESTON (92) — Owen Long 19, Kevin Jones 19, Payton Howard 16, Parker Long 16, Trey Jenkins 12, Clark Steward 5, Tra Ranson 5. FG