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Sikeston loses to Principia in battle of top-ranked teams
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – It was billed as a battle of No. 1 teams and the game didn’t disappoint the excited fans eager to see a powerhouse contest.
Sikeston, top-ranked in Class 5, took on Class 3 No. 1 Principia on Sunday afternoon, but the Bulldogs’ late-game rally fell short 74-69 at Greenwood Laboratory High School on the campus of Missouri State University in Springfield.
The game was played as part of the Bill Rowe Queen City Showcase that was held at the school over the weekend.
Principia, coached by Missouri Hall of Fame coach Jay Blossom, used a big second and third quarter to pull ahead of the Bulldogs.
The Panthers (6-0) featured a huge lineup with several collegiate prospects.
“They are a very talented team and we knew we would have a difficult game and that’s why we agreed to play,” said Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield, who is also a Missouri Hall of Famer. “They were very big and very athletic. We need to see these types of teams. It helps to expose some of your weaker areas so we can now emphasize the things that we have to work on.”
The Bulldogs (7-1) have started out of the gates hot all season in the first quarter and that continued on Sunday against the Panthers.
Despite falling behind 9-2, Sikeston quickly tied the game on a Tristan Wiggins 3-pointer. The run continued for the rest of the quarter as the Bulldogs were able to beat Principia down the court for layups and dunks.
Sikeston capped a 19-2 run when Marquel Murray finished a fast break with a slam and then went coast to coast after rebounding a Panther missed shot and then finishing on the other end with a layup. Wiggins then followed with a spinning shot in the lane to lead 21-11.
Sikeston led by as much as 24-13 after another Wiggins 3-pointer and eventually held a 26-16 lead after one.
“We got off to a great start and we had great energy,” Holifield said. “We got the pace how we wanted and we were causing them a lot of issues.”
Principia settled down in the second quarter and began making their comeback as they hurt the Bulldogs with second-chance points.
Sikeston was still holding on to a 35-34 lead late in the second quarter, but Principia’s Nour Gassim Toure scored on a floater inside to take the lead going into halftime, 36-35.
The Bulldogs did not help themselves offensively as the missed numerous shots inside as Principia’s length from 6-foot-9 center Sekou Cisse and 6-7 Ron Henry and 6-5 Mihajlo Olujic seemed to bother Sikeston.
“We got a little stagnant in the second quarter and we missed a ton of point-blank shots,” Holifield said. “That was a huge turning point in the game – just missing so many shots inside.”
The Panthers maintained their lead through the third quarter but Sikeston matched them throughout the period.
The Bulldogs gave up a Neo Swanson basket and then Olujic stole the inbounds pass and scored at the buzzer to give Principia a 56-50 lead.
Principia appeared ready to pull away for a comfortable victory in the fourth quarter as they opened up a 64-52 lead.
Sikeston had one final run as the Bulldogs turned up the defensive intensity and rallied back.
Sikeston quickly changed the momentum of the game and trimmed the lead to 66-62 on a Lekereon McCray basket with 2:55 left.
The Panthers answered with timely free throw shooting, but McCray scored another basket moments later to once again cut the deficit to 70-66 with just over a minute to go.
Principia was able to knock down 10 of 12 from the line in the fourth quarter to thwart the Bulldog comeback.
P.J. Farmer’s 3-pointer with 17 seconds left cut the lead to 73-69 to give the Bulldogs one final glimmer of hope, but Cisse hit 1 of 2 from the line to reach the final margin as Farmer’s final 3 was off the mark.
“I was pleased with our effort to come back and try to win,” Holifield said. “But we have to learn from this and we can’t have these lulls like we did in the second and third quarter. We will work on these things in practice and that’s the only way to correct it.”
Sikeston only forced 10 turnovers through the first three quarters, but they forced the Panthers into 11 turnovers in the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs had 12 turnovers themselves, but it was the missed inside shots that proved to be the biggest detriment for the team.
Sikeston shot just 27 of 73 (37 percent) from the field.
“It wasn’t even perimeter shots,” Holifield said. “It was shots inside. But you have to give them credit as well. They were very athletic and it bothered us some.”
Farmer scored 24 points with four rebounds and five assists. Wiggins scored 14 of his season-high 23 points in the first quarter. He also had seven rebounds and three steals.
Principia, a private school in the St. Louis area, competed in Class 4 last season due to the MSHSAA success factor, but they dropped to Class 3 this season where they are considered the favorites.
This is the second straight year Sikeston has played in a battle of No. 1 ranked teams. Last year Sikeston was No. 1 in Class 5, when on two separate occasions, they played New Madrid County Central, who was No. 1 in Class 3. Sikeston won both of those matchups with the Eagles last season.
The Panthers were led by Kingston Money’s 18 points. Quentin Coleman scored 16. Nour Gassim Toure had 15 and Cisse scored 13.
Sikeston will next play in the St. Dominic Christmas Tournament Dec. 26-28. The Bulldogs are the top seed and will play against North Point at 5:30 on Thursday.
PRINCIPIA 74, SIKESTON 69
| Sikeston | 26 | 9 | 15 | 19 | -- | 69 |
| Principia | 16 | 20 | 20 | 18 | -- | 74 |
SIKESTON (69) – P.J. Farmer 25, Tristan Wiggins 23, Lekereon McCray 8, Trace Sadler 6, Marquel Murray 5, Jaharus Goodwin 2. FG 27, FT 11-16, F 20. (3-pointers: Wiggins 3, Farmer 1. Fouled out: none).
PRINCIPIA (74) – Kingston Money 18, Quentin Coleman 16, Nour Gassim Toure 15, Sekou Cisse 13, Wyatt Slay 5, Ron Henry 3, Neo Swanson 2, Mihajlo Olujic 2. FG 27, FT 17-22, F 21. (3-pointers: Money 1, Coleman 1, Slay 1. Fouled out: Money).