Sikeston holds off Notre Dame rally to win SEMO Conference clash

Tristan Wiggins (0) drives pass defenders during Sikeston's 62-53 win over Notre Dame at the Field House on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024.

Dennis Marshall ~ Standard-Democrat

SIKESTON – Just eight days ago, Sikeston pounded Notre Dame in the SEMO Conference Tournament by a lopsided margin of 25 points.

In the first quarter on Friday night at the Sikeston Field House, it appeared that Sikeston would be off and running once again against Notre Dame, building a big lead.

This time, Sikeston had trouble putting away Notre Dame, but some big defensive plays down the stretch allowed the Bulldogs to hold on for a 62-53 SEMO Conference victory.

Early on, as they had done to every opponent this season, Sikeston jumped out to a huge first quarter lead, holding a 26-9 edge after one.

However, very quickly Notre Dame refused to let this game get away from them as they methodically chipped away at the deficit – eventually getting as close as 53-49 with a chance to cut into the lead even more.

But a missed pass by Notre Dame led to a steal by Sikeston’s P.J. Farmer who went the length of the floor, scored the bucket, and was fouled with 1:36 left in the game. Farmer made the subsequent free throw to extend the lead to 56-49.

“That was a big play,” Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said. “Our guys hung together down the stretch. A lot of teams could’ve faded. Things weren’t going our way. Really nothing was going our way. P.J. with just a tremendous play. It shows you what kind of player he is. When you need a bucket the most, he is going to step up and make a play.”

From there, after a Notre Dame free throw, Sikeston was able to extend the lead with Lekereon McCray scoring a layup got through Notre Dame’s press. Farmer then sank two free throws to push the lead back to double-digits with 27 seconds left.

A short time later, two McCray free throws sealed it for good, 62-51, with 11.5 seconds left.

“Our guys responded well in the last four minutes of the game and I thought we had a lot of great moments down the stretch,” Holifield said. “To Notre Dame’s credit, they played well in the second quarter and we never could really pull away. They were very good offensively and they were physical.”

After Sikeston’s big first quarter, Notre Dame’s senior experience rallied the team to a 16-12 edge in the second quarter to trim the gap to a more manageable 38-25 deficit, but as much as anything, showed that they could play with a Sikeston team that has enforced the turbo clock on every opponent they’ve faced so far this season.

“I think playing them a week ago we were able to retain the knowledge that if we just slow down and be patient on offense then we can get good looks,” Notre Dame coach Jeremy Brinkmeyer said. “We didn’t start off that way. We were a little helter skelter, but when we slowed down and worked inside-out, it definitely made us a lot better and took away some of that great defensive pressure Sikeston has.”

The pace continued to favor Notre Dame in the third quarter as Sikeston’s shooting went ice cold.

Notre Dame trimmed the lead to 40-29, but they could not pull any closer as the Bulldogs got baskets from Kobe Thomas and Farmer followed by drive to the basket by Marquel Murray to extend the lead to 50-33 heading into the fourth quarter.

In the final frame Notre Dame’s Brett Dohogne took over, scoring 12 of his game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter.

“I’m happy he’s having the success he’s having because he’s earned it,” Brinkmeyer said. “Last year when I took over he was a guard and I said, ‘we’re not very big so you’ve got to go inside.’ And being a Dohogne I think he was okay with it. And he’s reveled in it and has done a good job.”

A Kolton Johnson 3-pointer cut the lead to 53-47, and then after two missed free throws by Sikeston, sophomore Hudson Dennis rebounded a blocked shot by Trace Sadler and scored inside to bring the visiting Bulldogs to 53-49 with 2:45 left.

It was a shocking turn of events after Sikeston’s torrid start, having scored 26 first quarter points and then only tallying 27 points over the next 23 minutes.

“We got off to a great start,” Holifield said. “Our energy was high and we did a great job of sharing the basketball. But then we relaxed. We started missing shots and we just didn’t have rhythm. Notre Dame did a good job of taking certain things away from us. We missed some open looks in the second quarter when we had a big lead and it kind of allowed them to stay in the game. Every game’s tough in the SEMO Conference.”

Farmer finished with 20 points, with five of those coming in the final two minutes. He missed much of the fourth quarter after an ankle injury on the final play of the third quarter, but came back to finish out the game, including the crucial steal and conventional 3-point play to send Sikeston to the victory.

“We had our look,” Brinkmeyer said of the game’s pivotal play. "We drove baseline and did what we needed to do and had the look, but we didn’t execute on the pass. Anytime you get P.J. going full speed you better watch out. He made a great play and that’s what great players do.”

McCray finished with 13 points while Murray scored 11 and Tristan Wiggins added 10.

Sikeston, ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 5, improves to 7-0 on the season and 1-0 in the SEMO Conference. The Bulldogs will play in Springfield at Greenwood High School on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. against Class 3 No. 1 ranked Principia as part of Bill Rowe’s Queen City Showcase.

Notre Dame falls to 3-4 on the season and 0-2 in SEMO Conference play. They will play in the seMissourian Christmas Tournament next week.

“I think what I’m most proud of is when I walked in the locker room, we weren’t happy, we were disappointed,” Brinkmeyer said. “And that’s signs that we’re starting to believe in ourselves a little bit. It was good for our guys to build some confidence. Hopefully we can use this to get ready for our Christmas tournament.”

SIKESTON 62, NOTRE DAME 53

NOTRE DAME (53) – Brett Dohogne 27, Kolton Johnson 13, Hudson Dennis 6, Hunter Bonham 4, Brody Harden 3. FG 19, FT 9-14, F 11. (3-pointers: Johnson 3, Dohogne 2, Harden 1. Fouled out: none).

SIKESTON (62) – P.J. Farmer 20, Lekereon McCray 12, Marquel Murray 11, Tristan Wiggins 10, Jaharus Goodwin 5, Chris Artis 2, Kobe Thomas 2. FG 26, FT 6-10, F 14. (3-pointers: McCray 2, Murray 1, Farmer 1. Fouled out: none).

Junior Varsity

The Sikeston J.V. team improved to 3-1 on the season with a 67-61 victory over Notre Dame. Drake Williams led Sikeston with 24 points. Will Lape added 13 points.

SIKESTON 67, NOTRE DAME 61

NOTRE DAME (61) – B. Robert 13, A. Wagoner 12, C. Adams 12, D. Dannenmueller 8, D. Rubel 4, T. Powell 4, E. Schweinbold 3, K. Gross 2, T. Blattel 2, C. Erbst 1. FG 23, FT 10-12, F 13. (3-pointers: Adams 3, Powell 1, Robert 1. Fouled out: none).

SIKESTON (67) – Drake Williams 24, Will Lape 13, Pierce Baker 9, Ty Murray 7, John Hughes 4, Jakarion Ray 4, Christien Gibson 4, Naquavion Allen 2. FG 25, FT 8-12, F 17. (3-pointers: Williams 4, Lape 4, Baker 1. Fouled out: none).

Sikeston freshmen win

Sikeston’s freshman basketball team avenged a loss to Notre Dame with a resounding 83-37 win over Notre Dame’s freshmen to improve to 4-1 on the season.

Sikeston was led by Jakarion Ray and Elijah Reed with 18 points apiece. Devon Sanford added 12 points while Naquavion Allen scored 10.

NOTRE DAME (37) – Braedy Robert 11, Cole Adams 7, Quin Gammon 6, Chance Brosey 5, Colin Erbst 2, Stuart Moore 2, Ty Battle 2, Evan Schweinbold 2. FG 14, FT 12. (3-pointers: Adams 1, Gammon 1. Fouled out: none).

SIKESTON (83) – Jakarion Ray 18, Elijah Reed 18, Devon Sanford 12, Naquavion Allen 10, Khayden Dunnuvant 6, Campbell Boyce 5, Jared Waters 4, Leland Welborn 3, Adam Green 2, Blaine Sadler 2, Myron Sanders 2, Lane Myer 1. FG 35, FT 6-11, F 13. (3-pointers: Reed 2, Sanford 2, Ray 2, Boyce 1. Fouled out: none).