Sikeston rolls through Blue Knights in opening round of Union Tournament

Lekereon McCray (23) crosses a defender during Sikeston's 79-37 win over Dexter in the opening round of the SEMO Conference at the Field House on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024.

Dennis Marshall ~ Standard-Democrat

UNION, Mo. – For two straight seasons, the Sikeston Bulldogs have been tournament tough, winning first place in every regular season tourney they’ve participated.

This season they’ve won the Fountain City Classic, the SEMO Conference Tournament and the St. Dominic Christmas Tournament.

On Monday, the Bulldogs began their quest for a three-peat in the Union Invitational Tournament with a dominant 99-62 victory over the Blue Knights.

The Bulldogs advanced to the tournament semifinals on Friday night where they will play fifth-seeded Lift for Life at 5:30 p.m.

On Monday, P.J. Farmer paced six Bulldogs in double figures with 19 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals in 16 minutes of action.

Sikeston (15-2) quickly built a double-digit lead in the first quarter and rolled to the blowout win.

“I was pleased with the way we attacked them,” Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said. “It’s a long bus ride up here and sometimes you’re not sure how a team will handle that long of a trip, but we did what we were supposed to do and took care of business.”

Holifield liberally substituted players early, rotating nine players in the first four minutes of the game. Eight players reached the scoring column in the first quarter as the Bulldogs built a 34-18 lead.

Sikeston extended the lead even further in the second quarter, out-scoring the Blue Knights 28-8 to take a 62-26 advantage heading into halftime.

“I thought we had good pressure on the basketball and that allowed us to get out in transition some,” Holifield said.

Sikeston built an 82-35 lead with 3:15 left in the third quarter before Holifield emptied his bench for the rest of the night.

The Bulldogs took an 87-40 lead into the fourth quarter.

Sikeston led by as much as 92-44 in the final frame, but the Blue Knights showed resilience and went on a 16-0 run in the fourth quarter to keep the score more respectable.

“We did what we needed to do and now we have to get to work on our defense,” Holifield said. “We’ve still got some much improving to do to get ready for our district tournament.”

Lekereon McCray scored 16 points with four assists and three steals. Tristan Wiggins scored 15 points with five rebounds and three assists.

Kobe Thomas scored 11 points with four assists and three steals.

Chris Artis and Jaharus Goodwin each scored 10 points, with Goodwin also grabbed seven rebounds and blocking two shots.

Junior guard Marquel Murray, starting in place of the injured Trace Sadler, scored four points with five rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

Sadler is considered day-to-day with a sprained ankle.

Sikeston recorded 17 steals in the game and forced the Blue Knights into 22 turnovers.

The Bulldogs drained 9 of 25 (36 percent) from 3-point range.

The Blue Knights were led by Nate Reed’s 26 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter.

The Blue Knights (12-14) are a collection of home-schooled players based out of St. Louis.

SIKESTON 99, BLUE KNIGHTS 62

BLUE KNIGHTS (62) – Nate Reed 26, Josiah Bradford 8, Dylan Key 6, Michael Leine 6, Jake Anderson 6, Mason Tallo 4, J.P. Gunn 4, James Collins 2. FG 25, FT 3-5, F 10. (3-pointers: Reed 2, Leine 2, Key 2, Bradford 2, Tallo 1. Fouled out: none).

SIKESTON (99) – P.J. Farmer 19, Lekereon McCray 16, Tristan Wiggins 15, Kobe Thomas 11, Chris Artis 10, Jaharus Goodwin 10, Will Lape 8, Malachi Davis 6, Marquel Murray 4. FG 41, FT 8-10, F 5. (3-pointers: Thomas 3, Wiggins 2, Lape 2, Davis 2. Fouled out: none).