CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KFVS) – The Sikeston Bulldogs will eventually lose to a team from southeast Missouri again.
But not tonight!
The Sikeston Bulldogs took down Jackson 65-61, in a wire-to-wire thriller that saw the visitors become SEMO Conference regular season champions for a third straight season.
Sikeston came into the contest riding a 47-game winstreak over southeast Missouri teams, dating back to a February 17, 2023 loss versus Jackson.
Nonetheless, the Indians came into the game confident, 22-1 on the year, their only loss a single-digit defeat to Sikeston earlier in the season.
Jackson started strong in the first, with Ty Forest scoring a few times early, followed by Blayne Reagan and Jon Ernst.
However, as the first continued, Sikeston’s guards took control. Kobe Thomas heated up to continue his stellar senior season form, with sophomore Shaun Cole playing a mighty role offensively and defensively.
Cole later stole the ball and slammed it home on the other end to force an Indians timeout.
Sikeston took the lead and held it for the rest of the first half, the other Bulldogs’ highlight being a Thomas block that turned into a Jaharus Goodwin dunk.
Things continued in Sikeston’s favor in the third, but gradually Jackson, led by Blayne Reagan and Jory Thoma, fought their way back.
And in the 4th, Thoma tied the game 56-56, sending the already packed Event Center into a frenzy.
Despite the noise, Bulldogs senior Marquel Murray found his way to a mid-range shot, putting the Bulldogs up 58-56 again.
Sikeston held the lead 63-58 late, but Reagan made a huge 3-pointer to get it back to a single bucket.
And Ernst doubly put Jackson back into the game, calmly picking off a pass to give Jackson one final possession.
Forest took the shot, rolling in and going up for the tie to send it to overtime, the layup attempt just bouncing off the rim and out.
Thomas would get one final layup with a second left to put a bow on Sikeston’s 65-61 win.
With the victory, the Sikeston Bulldogs finish as undefeated regular season champions (8-0), compiling an impressive 24-2 regular season record.
While the Bulldogs focus on districts, Jackson has two more contests. The Indians visit juggernaut and reigning state champion Webster Groves on Monday, before a Thursday trip to rivals Notre Dame to finish the regular season.
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