Unbeaten Sikeston boys basketball team steams past Jackson, 74-44

The Jackson Indians boys basketball team had a tough chore entering Friday night's home game against unbeaten Sikeston, the top ranked Class 4 squad in the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association poll.

The task only got tougher when two key fixtures -- senior leading scorer Jacob Smith and 6-foot-7 sophomore Cameron Hester -- in the Indians' game plan found the bench less than four minutes into the contest with foul problems.

Sikeston took advantage of the dire situation with a 13-0 run to grab a 10-point lead by the close of the quarter and never looked back in a 74-44 victory.

Smith scored on the Indians' first two shots of the game and accounted for all his team's points when he committed his second foul on Juwon Kimble with 5 minutes, 12 seconds left in the first quarter and Jackson ahead 7-4.

Kimble hit both free throws and Smith headed to the bench, only to be joined by Hester just 48 seconds later.

Jackson's Jacob Smith drives against Sikeston's Juwon Kimble during the first quarter Friday, Jan. 15, 2016 in Jackson. (Fred Lynch)

"We were going to have to compete, and when the first four fouls were on Jacob and Cam, that kind of ... at that point we were competing and doing some things we were wanting to get done, and when they went out, the game kind of turned," Jackson coach Darrin Scott said.

Sikeston sophomore standout Fred Thatch sank both free throws from the foul on Hester to give Sikeston an 8-7 lead at the 4:24 mark. The Bulldogs closed out the quarter with a 3-pointer by senior marksman Dominique Dyes, four more free throws -- they were 8 of 8 from the line in the period -- and a basket by Kimble.

Smith and Hester both returned at the start of the second quarter, but Hester, the Indians' tallest player, quickly returned to the bench with three fouls when he was called for a charge just 13 seconds into the period.

Sikeston (13-0, 4-0 SEMO Conference) continued to build momentum with the first five points of the quarter, completing an 18-0 run for a 22-7 lead.

"It's just one of those things that happen sometimes, and we were just fortunate to build a lead," Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said about the Indians' foul trouble.

Jackson coach Darrin Scott reacts to a call during the second quarter of the Sikeston game Friday, Jan. 15, 2016 in Jackson. (Fred Lynch)

Smith finally broke a scoreless spell of nearly eight minutes when he sank a 12-foot jumper from the baseline with 5:54 left in the period.

Senior guard Garrett Walker followed with a 3-pointer and sophomore forward Pete Lake added three free throws when he was fouled on a 3-point shot attempt, becoming the first Indians not named Smith to find the scoring column and cutting the lead to 22-15 with 4:59 left in the half.

The Indians (9-8, 1-1 SEMO Conference) trailed 26-18 after a free throw by Smith at the 3:30 mark, but Sikeston closed the half with a rebounding exhibition on the offensive glass. The Bulldogs outscored the Indians 13-2 over the remainder of the period, with eight of their points off their own missed shots. Thatch scored twice on offensive putbacks, the second coming on his own miss with 1:55 left for a 30-20 lead and sparking an 11-0 run that extended the Bulldogs' lead to 39-20 at halftime.

"They just crashed so hard," Scott said. "We have to do a better job of being physical and sticking people and going and getting those balls. But on the flip side, they do a great job of rebounding."

Sikeston finished with 35 rebounds, with 13 on the offensive end.

Sikeston held its 19-point halftime lead despite shooting 11 of 30 from the field (36.6 percent). In addition to second-chance points, it sank 15 of 19 free throws as the Indians were whistled for 15 fouls.

Smith scored 12 of Jackson's 20 points in the half on his way to a game-high 21.

Sikeston needed less than three minutes of the third quarter to extend its halftime advantage to 30 points, scoring the first 12 points to complete a 23-0 run that stretched back to the second quarter.

Sikeston heated up from the field in the third quarter with five of its 10 field goals from 3--point range.

"I feel like we have a good-shooting team," Holifield said. "We're very confident in that area."

The Bulldogs hit 8 of 16 3-point attempts in the game after making 11 in a 63-57 road win against Carbondale (Ill.) earlier in the week . The six-point win against the Terriers was the smallest margin of victory this season for the Bulldogs, who have won by an average margin of 24.9 points in their 13-0 start.

"They're different," Scott said about the Bulldogs compared to past strong Sikeston teams, including the one that won the school's lone state title in 2011. "They are very good. This team is harder to guard in the half court than some of the other teams were, with Dyes, Nelson and [Kevin] Jones on the floor. They've got three guys that are shooting so well right now, and then of course, Thatch, he's one of the best players in the state. You've got to focus on him."

Thatch finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Dyes and Kimble both finished with 16 points.

"They share the basketball well," Holifield said about his team. "They make the extra pass, which makes it difficult to guard."

The loss ended a difficult week for the Indians, who dropped a 55-54 heart-breaker to Woodland -- also at home -- on a 3-point shot in the final seconds.

"That's the way basketball and life goes sometimes," Scott said. "You're going to have some tough times. That's going to test your resolve and what you're going to do about it. We've got tomorrow to take some time off, regroup and practice a couple days, and then next week we have a big week. We go to Park Hills and we go to Poplar Bluff. We can't spend too much time licking our wounds. We've got to learn something from this, watch some film and see what things we can tweak and then be ready to go next week."

Jackson returns to action 7:30 p.m. Tuesday when it visits Central (Park Hills).

Sikeston 74, Jackson 44

Sikeston 17 22 28 7 -- 74

Jackson 7 13 11 13 -- 44

SIKESTON (74) -- Dominique Dyes 16, Deterio Newman 3, Kevin Jones 9, Marquan Nelson 6, Camden Sepp 2, Fred Thatch 20, Juwan Kimble 16. FG 24, FT 18-23, F 18 (3-pointers: Dyes 4, Newman, Jones, Nelson 2, . Fouled out: none)

JACKSON (44) -- Desmond Morris 5, Jacob Frees 6, Garrett Walker 3, Jacob Smith 21, Pete Lake 5, Cameron Hester 4. FG 14, FT 12-17, F 20 (3-pointers: Morris, Walker, Smith 2. Fouled out: Lake)