Sikeston's bench powers Bulldogs to 95-52 win over Kennett

KENNETT, Mo. - The 14-2 Sikeston Bulldogs have taken all 14 of their wins by double digits this season.

This included their road victory on Jan. 24 at Kennett. They beat the Indians 95-52, marking their 13th win of the season en route to a four-game win streak.

Sikeston’s head coach Gregg Holifield, who is a Dunklin County native and former Kennett coach, felt his team had a good showing against the Indians. He credits the hour-long bus ride as having helped them, as his players usually travel a lot further to play opponents two or three hours away.

“I thought our guys came out with good intensity,” Holifield said. “Defensively, we did some good things creating turnovers, which led to more offense. Offensively, had a lot of unselfish play, which led to some good things and ultimately a win.”

Sikeston didn’t have one or two players fill out the scoreboard. Instead, Holifield’s group led to multiple players hitting double-digits. This included about 51% of their points coming from players off the bench.

Sikeston’s bench had 49 of their 95 total points, while their starters put up 46 points.

“All of our guys work hard and they take pride,” Holifield said. “That’s been the key to our success. They give me effort every day. They come to practice and work hard and when they do those things, good things happen.”

By the end of the first quarter, the Bulldogs were already up by 20 points. They led Kennett 30-10. At the end of the first half, the lead had grown to 30 points. They led 56-26.

Senior Dyson Watson did everything he could to help Kennett climb back. He was the top scorer out of both teams, with a game-high 24 points.

He drained three shots from three-point range and was 100% at the free-throw line, shooting 5-5.

However, Sikeston's 56-point first-half was too big of a hill for the Indians to climb. Junior Jaharus Goodwin led the Bulldogs from the bench with 16 points.

Along with Goodwin, junior Marquel Murray, also off the bench, was the second-leading scorer with 14 points. Lekereon McCray also had 14 points as a starter for the Bulldogs, only playing three quarters. Senior Christopher Artis Jr. would also score 10 points in the first half before sitting in the fourth quarter.

Following this game, Sikeston went on to play Gateway Legacy the next day on Jan. 25. Another double-digit victory, they beat Gateway Legacy 77-40.

Holified and his crew will spend the rest of this week in Union, Mo. at the Union tournament.

“We just are going to continue to work to get better every day,” Holifield said. “If we practice well, we will play well. Our guys have had good practices and are improving every day. They’re so many good teams out there and we want to be ready to compete against all of them.”

Following this loss, Kennett falls to 5-11 on the season. They will hit the road this week to face Poplar Bluff on Tuesday, Jan. 28, in hopes of snapping their current four-game losing streak.