I talked to Sikeston boys basketball coach Gregg Holifield, who said he would be happy to see Dickey Nutt taking over at Southeast Missouri State. Holifield said he had not spoken with Nutt in recent days, though he received a text message from him late Tuesday night...

The Bernie Mules are trailing South Iron 36-29 in a Class 2 sectional game at Park Hills Central High School. Bernie led 22-20 after one period but South Iron came up with a 12-point run in the second quarter to take a 36-24 lead. Bernie rallied in th final 30 seconds to avoid getting blown out of the building by halftime, after South Iron had the ball and a chance to wait on the last shot...

If you have heard the rumors: Yes, this is my final day at Semoball.com; but no, I have not been tabbed by John Shafer to become SEMO's next basketball coach. I will begin working as the sports editor at a paper in Southern California next week. I am not a big believer in good-bye columns, but I want to say thanks to all the student-athletes, coaches, adult-athletes, officials, league organizers, race directors and administrators who took the time to answer my questions during the last five years.. ...

Delta, the Class 1 runner-up last year, trails Tuscumbia 33-31 after three quarters in Park Hills. The Bobcats were down four, 27-23, at halftime but limited Tuscumbia to one basket over the first 5 1/2 minutes of the third quarter. --- Delta now 34-33 with 5:57 to play, and Tuscumbia has called timeout after turning the ball over...

Scott County Central has opened up some room on St. Elizabeth in a meeting of top-five teams in the Class 1 poll at the state sectional at Central High School in Park Hills (which has wireless). The Braves lead 49-34 with 2:00 to go in the first half...

The stretch from Tuesday to Saturday covered 10 basketball games -- it's a fun time of year -- with some good contests and a couple of blowouts. Bernie was impressive in its two victories to close out the Class 2 District 3 championship at Chaffee. The Mules crushed Saxony Lutheran 80-48 with a 19-0 run to start the second period Tuesday, and they rallied past Advance 72-65 in the championship game Thursday...

Southeast Missouri State has announced a press conference for 2 p.m. Thursday at the Show Me Center to announce a new basketball coach. Athletic director John Shafer will make the announcement and, according to the release, won't have any further comment until then...

It's kind of uncanny that both the Sikeston boys and Dexter girls basketball teams struggled in the first half, trailed by 10 at intermission and rallied to erase the deficit in the third quarter. But Dexter was able to get a boost from one of its go-to players in the fourth quarter and never trailed Sullivan, while Sikeston saw its lead taken away by yet another Borgia 3-pointer and never held the lead in the final 4 1/2 minutes...

St. Francis Borgia eliminated Sikeston with a 51-41 decision, outscoring the Bulldogs 12-2 in the final 2:40. Nathan Scheer, whose status was uncertain and who came out of the locker room on crutches after the game, scored on a layin with 2:20 remaining to give Borgia a 42-39 lead...