Central's upset bid in SEMO Conference title game falls short

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The Central High School boys basketball team weathered Sikeston's storm in the first half.

The Tigers weathered it so well, in fact, that they entered the locker room with a lead.

But it's hard to avoid the Bulldogs' hurricane for four quarters.

Sikeston used a third-period flurry to take control of Friday's SEMO Conference tournament championship game that looked for a while like it might go to the wire.

Top-seeded Sikeston's 13-0 run put second-seeded Central in a hole, and the Bulldogs went on to romp 76-55 to continue their home-court dominance.

Sikeston (6-0) won its third straight SEMO Conference tournament title and pushed its home-court winning streak to 41 games. The Bulldogs' last loss at the Sikeston Field House was in early December 2007.

"They're a really good team, especially at home. It's hard to beat them here," said Central coach Drew Church, whose squad fell to 5-1.

Sikeston barely worked up a sweat to reach the final, including Thursday's 70-36 semifinal rout of Jackson.

The Bulldogs sweated plenty against Central as the Tigers pushed Sikeston well into the third quarter before a capacity crowd.

"It was really a competitive first half," Sikeston senior guard Janeil Hatchett said. "They got out and dictated the pace."

The pace was to the Tigers' liking over the opening two quarters as they handled Sikeston's pressure relatively well while patiently working around the ball.

There were five lead changes and six ties in a first half that saw the biggest lead being Sikeston's 24-18 second-quarter advantage.

The Tigers silenced the Sikeston fans and brought their own supporters to a fever pitch when they closed the half on a 12-2 run.

Senior guard Andrew Williams, who picked up two fouls early in the game, sparked the run by scoring nine of Central's final 12 points of the half. All came on 3-pointers, including one with 2 seconds left that sent the Tigers into the locker room ahead 30-26.

"We came out kind of slow, some guys getting into foul trouble, but we picked it up," said Williams, whose three free throws with no time left on the clock lifted Central to Thursday's 48-47 semifinal win over Notre Dame.

Sikeston quickly went ahead 31-30 to start the third quarter, but another Williams 3-pointer -- he had six on the night -- put Central back on top 33-31.

Then the explosive Bulldogs struck with their 13-0 run that featured several Central turnovers and totally turned around the game.

Senior guard Will Holifield had two 3-pointers in the spurt, senior guard Darryl Howard added five points and Hatchett's basket after a steal made it 44-33.

"They have a lot of team speed," Williams said. "They turned it up another gear in the third quarter, and after that the crowd got into it."

Sikeston had a 30-14 third-quarter advantage -- getting 12 points from Holifield and 11 points from Hatchett -- to lead 56-44.

"The way we play, we want to get out and run," Hatchett said.

Central was still as within striking distance entering the final period, but the Bulldogs would not let up. They scored 16 of the first 20 points in the quarter over the first 3:23 to lead 72-48 for the night's biggest advantage.

Sikeston outscored Central 50-25 in the second half.

"They have so many weapons. We got tired," Church said. "We had about a four-minute stretch [in the third quarter] where we got away from our game plan when they made their run.

"But our kids battled. This is good for some of our inexperienced kids."

Hatchett had a huge night with 27 points, seven rebounds, seven steals and five assists.

Williams paced Central with 18 points, all coming on 3-pointers. Senior forward James Lane was right behind with 17 points.

Junior forward T.J. Tisdale, who had 23 points against Notre Dame, added 14 points against Sikeston despite playing less than half the game due to foul trouble.

Tisdale, a first-year varsity performer, eventually fouled out with 7:10 left.

"He's got to play smarter, but he's really come a long way since last year," Church said. "He really came on this summer and he's got a great upside."

Church feels that way about the Tigers in general as they are off to a strong start despite not having two of their key guards on the floor yet.

Senior Blake Ozbun is out with an injury and senior Curtis Branch becomes eligible for the second semester.

Branch, a transfer from the Jonesboro, Ark., area, is being looked at by several Division I programs, including Southeast Missouri State.

"I'm excited about the season," Church said. "The attitude of our kids is great."

Central 11 19 14 11 -- 55

Sikeston 14 12 30 20 -- 76

CENTRAL (55) -- David Watts 2, Andrew Williams 18, T.J. Tisdale 14, James Lane 17, Justin Espinoza 4. FG 16, FT 17-26, F 14. (3-pointers: Williams 6. Fouled out: Tisdale)

SIKESTON (76) -- Kil'Ron Coleman 3, Eldridge Gibson 2, Janeil Hatchett 27, Darryl Howard 10, Caleb McGee 3, Terry Jamison 5, Will Holifield 12, Keldon Warfield 4, Corey Porter 10. FG 27, FT 12-14, F 22. (3-pointers: Coleman 1, Hatchett 2, Howard 2, Jamison 1, Holifield 4. Fouled out: none)