Sikeston rolls into Fountain City final with 88-51 victory over Ste. Gen

DE SOTO, Mo. – After scoring 100 in the team’s season-opener on Monday against Fox High School, the Sikeston Bulldogs’ high-scoring offense was on full display once again on Friday night in the 10th Annual Fountain City Classic at De Soto High School.

The top-seeded Bulldogs poured in 56 points in the first half and cruised to an 88-51 victory over fourth-seeded Ste. Genevieve to advance to the championship game.

The Bulldogs will play third-seeded Fort Zumwalt West (58-48 winners over second-seeded Cape Central), in the championship game on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.

“We’re happy to be back in the championship game, but we know Fort Zumwalt West is a very well-coached, hard-working team, and they shoot it extremely well – we’re going to have to come to play,” Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said.

Friday’s game was all Sikeston from the start as the Bulldogs jumped out to a double-digit lead just a few minutes into the game.

Sikeston created havoc with its pressure defense, leading to eight first quarter turnovers for the Dragons.

“I thought we had good ball pressure and that gave us some scoring opportunities in transition,” Holifield said. “That’s how we have to play. However, we still have a lot of work to do with our defense.”

The Bulldogs led by as much as 25-8 late in the first quarter and ended up holding a 31-15 advantage at the end of one.

Sikeston was led by senior all-state guard P.J. Farmer, who tallied 16 of his game-high 24 points in the first quarter.

Farmer also had 10 rebounds, five assists, seven steals and two blocks before being subbed out for good midway through the third quarter.

“P.J. is such a good player and he does so many things well on the court,” Holifield said. “He’s had a great start to this season and I look for him to improve every day as the season progresses.”

The Bulldogs (2-0) continued to extend their lead in the second quarter, forcing eight more turnovers, and out-scored the Dragons 25-15 in the period.

Sikeston led 56-30 at the half.

Holifield was able to get his reserves valuable experience throughout the game, including most of the third and fourth quarter.

“I thought our bench came in and played really well,” Holifield said. “Those guys really work hard and practice and I was pleased to see them come in and produce.”

Sikeston led 78-46 heading into the fourth quarter where the mercy clock put a swift end to the game.

Bulldog senior guard Tristan Wiggins scored 21 points with eight rebounds and five steals as he bulled his way inside for tough baskets.

“Tristan is so hard to stop inside when he gets his shoulders squared to the basket,” Holifield said. “He can score a variety of ways and that makes him difficult to defend.”

Senior guard Lekereon McCray followed up with 12 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Junior Kobe Thomas came off the bench to score 10 points while junior Jaharus Goodwin scored nine points.

Ste. Genevieve (1-1) was led by Eli Bennett’s 19 points. Devin Flye followed up with 14 points.

Ste. Genevieve 15 15 16 5 -- 51

Sikeston 31 25 22 10 -- 88

STE. GENEVIEVE (51) – Eli Bennett 19, Devin Flye 14, Jeffrey Hunter 6, Dominic Johnson 5, Alex Basler 4, Maddox Sutton 3. FG 20, FT 6-12, F 11. (3-pointers: Bennett 3, Flye 1, Johnson 1. Fouled out: none).

SIKESTON (88) – P.J. Farmer 24, Tristan Wiggins 21, Lekereon McCray 12, Kobe Thomas 10, Jaharus Goodwin 9, Trace Sadler 4, Marcus Sanders 4, Chris Artis 2, Drake Williams 2. FG 38, FT 9-16, F 13. (3-pointers: Thomas 2, McCray 1. Fouled out: none).