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Borgia rallies past Sikeston to capture Union title
UNION, Mo. – Sikeston and St. Francis Borgia have had some epic battles over the years and Saturday night’s Union Invitational Tournament championship just adds to the lore.
This time, however, Borgia was the team that made the big plays in the end as they rallied past the Bulldogs 67-60 at Union High School.
Sikeston (15-3) led through the first half, controlling the pace and the tempo, but Borgia heated up in the second half from beyond the arc to complete the come-from-behind victory.
The Knights (13-5) buried 10 3-pointers in the game which proved to be the dagger for the Bulldogs.
“You have to give them credit, they shot the ball well and we weren’t finding shooters and we were eating screens,” Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said. “We knew what they were capable of and we just didn’t react to certain situations very well. They have a really, really good team.”
The Bulldogs led 23-15 after one quarter and led by as much as 39-29 late in the second quarter, but Borgia high flyer Harry Mitchell soared for a dunk and a Bulldog turnover led to a Mitchell layup just before the buzzer to trim the lead to 39-33 at the half.
“That was a critical sequence just before the half when we had a chance to extend our lead, but instead they scored back-to-back baskets,” Holifield said.
Sikeston still led through the third quarter, leading by as much as 43-35 on a P.J. Farmer tip-in, but the Bulldogs could not extend the lead any further as Borgia’s 3-point shooting brought the Knights to within two, 49-47 at the end of three.
Borgia took their first lead since the opening basket when sharpshooter John Gildehaus was fouled on a 3-point attempt – he made all three free throws to give the Knights a 50-49 lead.
The Bulldogs responded with a Lekereon McCray 3-pointer, a Farmer dunk and two Tristan Wiggins free throws to lead 56-50, but the Knights would not go away.
McCray hit another 3-pointer to give Sikeston a 59-55 lead, but Borgia standout Emery Woerhmann answered with a 3 and, following a Sikeston turnover, Hunter Reinberg hit a 3-pointer to give the Knights a 61-59 lead with just under two minutes to go.
Sikeston’s Chris Artis split a pair of free throws with 1:31 left to cut the lead to 61-60, but the Knights finished the game strong.
Reinberg scored inside and then, after a missed Sikeston 3-pointer, Mitchell followed up a missed shot with a dunk to stake a 65-60 lead to seal the game.
“Fortunately for us, our kids got hot at the right time,” Borgia coach Dave Neier said. “There were times where it looked like they could’ve pulled away. But we kept it close enough and it kind of see-sawed at the end and then we hit a couple big shots and really that was the difference. It could’ve gone either way but we made a couple shots. This was the best game we’ve played, and to have that opportunity to stay in the game with them and then go ahead and win was a great feeling for our kids.”
The Bulldogs couldn’t score again and were forced to foul leading to the final score, giving Borgia its biggest lead of the night.
“We didn’t handle the fourth quarter like I had hoped,” Holifield said. “We seemed low energy tonight and that’s something we will have to get corrected.”
The Bulldogs were led by Wiggins with 13 points, four rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Farmer scored 10 points with four rebounds and four assists.
Both Wiggins and Farmer were named to the all-tournament team.
McCray added nine points with nine rebounds, six assists and three steals. Artis had seven points, six rebounds and four assists.
The Bulldogs hit eight 3-pointers themselves with three apiece from Wiggins and McCray.
Sikeston, already without junior guard Marquel Murray due to illness, also lost 7-foot senior Trace Sadler midway through the game when he re-aggravated his hurt ankle.
Borgia was led by Gildehaus with 19 points off the bench. Tournament MVP Woehrmann and Reinberg each had 18.
This is the seventh time Borgia and Sikeston have met, with Borgia now holding a 4-3 lead in the series. Borgia won the first three – once in the Class 4 state championship game in 2006 and twice in the Class 4 state quarterfinals in 2009 and 2010.
Sikeston defeated Borgia in the Class 4 state championship game in 2011 and then defeated the Knights the last two years in the championship game of the Union Tournament.
“I just talked about their program and how this matchup goes way back,” Neier said. “We’ve seen these guys a lot and man we’ve had some great contests with each other. It’s become a great rivalry and the atmosphere tonight was like a playoff atmosphere. I’m just happy for our kids to win a game of this magnitude against a very good basketball team.”
Neier is one of the all-time winningest coaches in Missouri high school basketball, with a career mark of 844-275.
Holifield is 619-278 in his career. Tonight’s game was the 2,016th game when combining Neier and Holifield’s records.
“Sikeston is such a tough opponent every time we play them and we have great admiration for their program,” Neier said.
Sikeston will host Dexter in a SEMO Conference game on Tuesday at the Field House. A freshman game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Junior varsity is scheduled for 6 p.m.
ST. FRANCIS 67, SIKESTON 60
| St. Francis Borgia | 15 | 18 | 14 | 20 | -- | 67 |
| Sikeston | 23 | 16 | 10 | 11 | -- | 60 |
ST. FRANCIS BORGIA (67) – John Gildehaus 19, Hunter Reinberg 18, Emery Woehrmann 18, Harry Mitchell 12. FG 25, FT 7-9, F 12. (3-pointers: Gildehaus 4, Woehrmann 4, Reinberg 2. Fouled out: none).
SIKESTON (60) – Tristan Wiggins 13, P.J. Farmer 10, Lekereon McCray 9, Jaharus Goodwin 9, Chris Artis 7, Trace Sadler 6, Kobe Thomas 6. FG 24, FT 4-6, F 13. (3-pointers: Wiggins 3, McCray 3, Thomas 2. Fouled out: none).