All Gas, No Brakes: Sikeston leaves Charleston in the rearview

CHARLESTON, Mo. – There’s been a few games where the Sikeston Bulldogs have been firing all on cylinders.

Chalk up Saturday night’s game at Charleston as one of those games.

Sikeston, fresh off a 36-point whipping at Poplar Bluff the night before, topped that outing with an even more impressive performance, defeating Charleston 96-57 in the finale of the Sixth Man Shootout.

The game was a rescheduled contest after getting snowed out on Jan. 10.

Sikeston (19-3, 5-0 SEMO Conference) raced out to a 10-0 lead and never looked back, quickly building a double-digit lead that swelled with each passing minute.

“Our guys came in with a focus and a determination tonight and it showed in our performance,” said Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield. “I could tell we were zeroed in during warm-ups and when we have that kind of focus we have the capabilities to do great things.”

After a defensive stop, Lekereon McCray started the game with a 3-pointer followed by a P.J. Farmer transition layup and a transition 3-pointer.

Chris Artis capped the opening run with an offensive putback to lead 10-0.

Treshaun Schandon ended the Blue Jays’ scoring drought with an inside basket, but the Bulldogs responded with six more points.

Sikeston 7-foot senior Trace Sadler split a pair of free throws and then caught an impressive alley-oop slam from Farmer, who lobbed the pass from near halfcourt.

Then, a Kobe Thomas 3-pointer made it 16-2.

It was just that kind of night for the Bulldogs.

“I wasn’t sure what our energy level was going to be after the trip to Poplar Bluff last night," Holifield said. "But I have to credit our guys for really coming in with high energy and laser focus tonight."

Sikeston established the tempo of the game to its liking as its pressure defense caused the young Charleston squad fits throughout the night.

The Bulldogs forced the Blue Jays (10-10, 3-3 SEMO) into 19 turnovers while also dominating the boards.

Numerous times, Sikeston was able to beat its opponent down the floor in transition.

No player controlled the boards like Tristan Wiggins, who grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds. He also had 15 points and nine assists, just narrowly missing a triple-double.

Notable to mention, Wiggins had all 15 of his rebounds in the first half as he only played five minutes in the third quarter.

“Tristan just played outstanding,” Holifield said. “I’m very pleased with his effort. He played physically and made great decisions.”

Sikeston held a 29-10 lead after one quarter.

Another Sadler alley-oop finish opened the second quarter followed by a second Thomas 3-pointer to lead 34-10.

The Bulldogs pushed the lead over 30 on an Artis fast-break dunk, and with seconds ticking down in the half, another Sadler alley-oop jam gave the Bulldogs a 62-25 lead.

Sadler’s fourth slam opened the third quarter as Sikeston continued to pull away, leading by as much as 80-40 as Holifield cleared his bench with 3:24 left in the third quarter.

A pair of drives by Jaharus Goodwin gave the Bulldogs an 85-43 lead heading into the fourth quarter where the mercy clock ran the rest of the game.

“Tonight was just our night,” Holifield said. “Things were clicking for us and things went our way. Charleston has such a good young group and I know they will be a difficult team to beat in their district. So I’m really proud of our effort tonight and hopefully, we can use this victory as a springboard for the rest of the season.”

Charleston was led in scoring by Tayshon Clark’s 14 points, while Trenez Lane followed up with 13 and Schandon added 10.

In addition to Wiggins, Sikeston had huge nights from numerous players, most notably Sadler, who scored a career-high 18 points with two steals and two blocks, while altering numerous other shots.

His length and size inside were clearly deterrents against the smaller Bluejay squad.

“This was probably the best game Trace has played,” Holifield said. “He was a factor on both ends. He was aggressive and had the right mindset tonight.”

Farmer finished with 18 points and four assists. Artis had 14 points while Thomas came off the bench to score 12.

McCray continues to be a menace defensively and a top-notch distributor with a team-high six assists, adding three steals and seven rebounds.

It was a fitting game for Holifield, who was coaching in his 900th game as a varsity basketball coach.

“That just means I’ve been doing it a long time,” Holifield joked. “I’ve been real fortunate to do something I love for 35 years. To me, it’s not work. It’s not a job. This is what I love to do.”

Sikeston will be back in action next Friday when they host Cape Central in a SEMO Conference game. Junior varsity is scheduled for 6 p.m.

SIKESTON 96, CHARLESTON 57

Sikeston               29           33           23           11           --            96

Charleston          10           17           16           14           --            57

SIKESTON (96) – Trace Sadler 18, P.J. Farmer 18, Tristan Wiggins 15, Chris Artis 14, Kobe Thomas 12, Jaharus Goodwin 5, Lekereon McCray 3, Will Lape 3, John Hughes 2, Malachi Davis 2, Pierce Baker 2, Marcus Sanders 2. FG 38, FT 14-20, F 23. (3-pointers: Thomas 2, Wiggins 1, Lape 1, McCray 1, Farmer 1. Fouled out: none).

CHARLESTON (57) – Tayshaun Clark 14, Trenez Lane 13, Treshaun Schandon 10, Deshaun Henderson 7, Kevin Duncan 4, Shilyn Henderson 3, Chase Kearbey 3, Da’kyrious Williams 2, Adrian Rodgers 1. FG 21, FT 10-20, F 16. (3-pointers: Clark 2, Schandon 1, Lane 1, Kearbey 1. Fouled out: none).