Sikeston dashes Poplar Bluff's homecoming hopes, extends winning streak

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. – For most of the first half, Poplar Bluff showed they would not be intimidated by Sikeston.

The Mules, playing inspired in front of a packed homecoming crowd, were hitting shots and had the Bulldogs scrambling to find shooters in Friday night’s SEMO Conference game at Poplar Bluff High School.

Then Sikeston took over as it ratcheted up its defense and started converting turnovers into layups. It snowballed on the Mules as the Bulldogs won 88-52, notching their seventh straight win in the rivalry.

“We didn’t play as well as I had hoped early, but we got things going in the second quarter,” said Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield. “You have to give credit to Bluff, they were shorthanded, but their guys were playing their tails off. Once we settled in we really played well.”

In the decisive second quarter, Poplar Bluff rallied to trim the lead to 25-21 on 6-foot-8 sophomore Justin Briscoe’s jumper.

Sikeston (18-3, 4-0 SEMO Conference) responded with dominance for the rest of the half.

The Bulldogs went on a 13-0 run, capped by a P.J. Farmer slam, a Kobe Thomas 3-pointer, and an inside basket by Jaharus Goodwin to lead 38-21.

The Mules (9-12, 1-4 SEMO) scored to stop the run, but the Bulldogs went on another run to close the half – going on an 11-3 spurt capped by another Farmer slam and a Tristan Wiggins offensive putback just before the halftime buzzer to give Sikeston a 49-27 lead.

“We were in the right spots defensively and that triggered some fastbreak points for us,” Holifield said. “That’s how we have to play all the time.”

The Bulldogs blew the game open in the third quarter as Wiggins opened with a 3-pointer and then found 7-footer Trace Sadler on an alley-oop slam.

Sikeston had built a 68-35 lead on a Lekereon McCray reverse layup late in the third quarter as Holifield pulled his starters for the rest of the night.

Sikeston took a 68-41 lead into the fourth quarter as reserves played out the remainder of the game.

The Bulldogs forced 17 turnovers in the game as they shot 7 of 18 (39 percent) from 3-point range.

“I thought we got better defensively as the game went,” Holifield said. “On the offensive side of the ball, we started taking better shots and moving the ball a lot better.”

The Bulldogs had 13 different players reach the scoring column, led by Wiggins with 16 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Thomas came off the bench to score 13 points with four rebounds.

McCray scored 10 points and Farmer had 10 points with five steals.

Malachi Davis came off the bench to grab a team-high seven rebounds.

Dallas Williams led the Mules with 20 points. Poplar Bluff was playing without Sammy and Brendan Durden.

Sammy is reportedly out for the season with a torn ACL and Brendan is considered day-to-day with a turned ankle.

The Bulldogs have won 22 of the last 26 meetings and have not lost a SEMO Conference regular season game to Poplar Bluff since 2009.

Sikeston has a quick turnaround and will play Charleston in a SEMO Conference game on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Charleston High School. The game is a rescheduled contest after getting snowed out on Jan. 10.

SIKESTON 88, POPLAR BLUFF 52

Sikeston               19           30           19           20           --            88

Poplar Bluff         13           14           14           11           --            52

SIKESTON (88) – Tristan Wiggins 16, Kobe Thomas 13, Lekereon McCray 10, P.J. Farmer 10, Jaharus Goodwin 9, Chris Artis 8, Trace Sadler 7, Malachi Davis 4, Will Lape 3, John Hughes 2, Drake Williams 2, Pierce Baker 2, Marcus Sanders 2. FG 38, FT 5-8, F 9. (3-pointers: Thomas 3, Wiggins 2, Goodwin 1. Fouled out: none).

POPLAR BLUFF (52) – Dallas Williams 20, Justin Briscoe 12, Jay Edmundson 7, Bryson Paukner 6, Micha Inscoe 3, Jones 2, Corban Thomas 2. FG 22, FT 3-5, F 7. (3-pointers: Paukner 2, Edmundson 1, Williams 1, Inscoe 1. Fouled out: none).

Junior Varsity

The Sikeston J.V. team improved to 9-1 on the season with a 65-54 win over Poplar Bluff’s junior varsity.

Drake Williams had 27 points to lead the J.V. Bulldogs. Quay Allen had 10 points.

Ty Murray grabbed nine rebounds while Jay Ray had nine points and nine rebounds. John Hughes had seven points with six assists and four steals.