Sikeston bounces back with convincing victory over St. Mary's

Tristan Wiggins (0) plays defense during Sikeston's 72-51 win at St. Mary's Southside on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025.

Photo courtesy of Jason Rudisill

ST. LOUIS – Following Sikeston’s disappointing loss to Farmington on Tuesday, coach Gregg Holifield went back to the basics in the next two practices with his team.

An intensive film session along with practices geared towards toughness and attitude were the focal points throughout the week.

The Bulldogs responded with an impressive 72-51 road victory over St. Mary’s South Side Catholic on Friday night.

St. Mary’s has played a brutal schedule this season and came into the season as one of the state’s top contenders in Class 5 – and also a potential quarterfinal matchup with Sikeston.

“We were very disappointed with the way we played on Tuesday and we needed to address a few things in practice,” Holifield said. “I was very happy with the way we bounced back tonight. I thought we played very well against a tough opponent.”

St. Mary’s plays a similar style to Sikeston with hard-nosed, “in-your-face” defense, but it was the Bulldogs’ pressure and ball-handling ability that contributed to the victory.

Sikeston forced 19 turnovers against the Dragons while turning the ball over 16 times themselves.

“We did have a few turnovers, but I thought overall we handled the ball pretty well,” Holifield said. “I was really pleased with our intensity on the defensive end and I thought our aggression caused them some problems tonight.”

The Bulldogs (11-2) trailed 7-2 early, but Sikeston took control of the game from there, going on a 12-0 run to lead 14-7. The run was sparked by Kobe Thomas’ scoring ability off the bench and the team’s intense defensive pressure on the other end.

St. Mary’s (8-8) got two free throws and a driving reverse layup from Zyree Collins, but Thomas buried back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the lead to 20-11.

St. Mary’s Caden Ward hit a 3-pointer at the first quarter buzzer to trim the lead to 20-14.

Sikeston dominated the game from that point.

The Bulldogs out-scored St. Mary’s 18-4 in the second quarter to blow the game open.

Chris Artis got things started in the second quarter with a drive to the basket followed by a Lekereon McCray short jumper and a Marquel Murray conventional 3-point play following a steal.

Trace Sadler, McCray and Jaharus Goodwin all scored baskets to cap a 13-0 run to open the second quarter to increase the Bulldogs’ lead to 32-14.

Many of Sikeston’s points were generated by creating turnovers and attacking the defensive glass and then beating the Dragons down the court.

After missed shots, St. Mary’s surrounds defensive rebounders in an effort to create turnovers, but instead Sikeston was able to push the ball and score in transition.

“They were very aggressive when we would rebound and you have to be strong and protect the ball and we did that – it created some scoring opportunities once we got by the initial pressure and we had advantages,” Holifield said.

St. Mary’s scored a pair of baskets, but the Bulldogs closed the half strong with a 6-0 run on baskets by Murray, McCray and Farmer to lead 38-18 at the half.

The Bulldogs continued to control the game coming out the halftime locker room as six different players got into the scoring column led by Sadler’s six points, including a pair of crowd-pleasing alley-oop jams.

Sadler’s slam with 1:08 left in the third gave Sikeston its biggest lead of the night at 60-32.

St. Mary’s out-scored the Bulldogs 17-12 in the fourth quarter as reserves played most of the period to close out the game.

The Bulldogs focused much of its defensive energy on Collins, who is considered one of the top collegiate prospects in the state. Collins finished with 21 points.

“We had to know where he was at all times because he can score from anywhere,” Holifield said. “I thought we did a really good job of finding him and forcing tough shots. He’s so good, so you’re not going to shut him down, but you have to make him earn it and I thought we did that.”

Thomas led Sikeston’s scoring attack with 20 points, including 12 in the first quarter.

“Kobe really sparked us tonight,” Holifield said. “He has the ability to score in bunches and you saw him do that tonight.”

Senior all-state guard P.J. Farmer flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 11 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists. He also had five steals and four blocked shots.

McCray added 11 points and four steals while Sadler had 10 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots.

Tristan Wiggins had four assists. Artis had a team-high nine rebounds while Murray had six points and six rebounds.

“We are at our best when we spread it around like that,” Holifield said. “We have a very unselfish team and the guys are always looking for each other. Every game it could be a different guy that steps up. I love that about this team.”

Friday’s game with St. Mary’s is just the second time the two schools have met in recent memory. The first time was a colossal, No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup, in 2018 in the Class 4 state quarterfinals at Jefferson College. Sikeston won that game in what many considered an upset, 76-50, to advance to the Class 4 final four.

Sikeston’s schedule does not get any easier as they will take to the road once again on Monday to take on Calloway County, Ky., as part of the Eagles Classic at Murray State University.

Calloway County features several college prospects and come into the game with a 16-2 record.

“We expect a very difficult game once again, but that’s the kind of games we want to play,” Holifield said. “That’s why we seek out these types of opponents. We want our team to be battle-tested come district tournament time.”

That game is scheduled to tip-off at 4:30 p.m. at Murray State’s CFSB Arena.

SIKESTON 72, ST. MARY's SOUTHSIDE 51

SIKESTON (72) – Kobe Thomas 20, Lekereon McCray 11, P.J. Farmer 11, Trace Sadler 10, Chris Artis 6, Marquel Murray 6, Tristan Wiggins 4, Jaharus Goodwin 4. FG 32, FT 6-13, F 12. (3-pointers: Thomas 2. Fouled out: none).

ST. MARY’S (51) – Zyree Collins 21, Gary Johnson 7, Caden Ward 7, Chase Rhone 5, Xavier Clark 4, Ethan Smith 2, Tommy Kurz 2, Jayden White-Miller 2, J’Mareon Barnes 1. FG 20, FT 7-11, F 10. (3-pointers: Collins 2, Johnson 1, Ward 1. Fouled out: none).

Junior varsity

The Sikeston J.V. team improved to 5-1 on the season with a 48-39 victory over St. Mary’s junior varsity.

Trailing 30-26 after three quarters of play, Sikeston out-scored the Dragons 22-9 in the fourth quarter to pull out the victory.

The Bulldogs’ Jay Ray had 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead the way. Ty Murray had eight points with 12 rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocked shots.

Freshmen win

The Sikeston freshman team improved to 5-1 on the season by defeating St. Mary’s freshmen, 74-53 in the first game of the triple-header.

Jay Ray scored 18 points while Devon Sanford followed up with 13 points. Quay Allen scored 11.