SIKESTON -- The top-seeded Sikeston Bulldogs came out firing on offense Tuesday night, built a big early lead and cruised to a 75-46 win over ninth-seeded Dexter in the quarterfinals of the SEMO Conference boys basketball tournament.
"I think it was 7-6 and we were playing pretty good, actually," Dexter coach Lloyd Hyten said. "Then the next thing, you look up and it's 31-8. It just got away from us. I know they hit their first (four) 3s. I don't know what they shot. I'm sure that they shot well over 50 percent in the first half. (20 of 32 for 63 percent.) That's just an excellent team. I watched them in practice (Monday). They get after it. They're super well coached. Those boys just really want it. Sikeston, it's going to take a heck of a team in the state to beat them. They're really good."
The Bearcats will face fourth-seeded Notre Dame in a consolation semifinal at 6 p.m. today at the Sikeston Field House. Fifth-seeded Charleston beat Notre Dame 58-54 in Tuesday's other quarterfinal. Sikeston will face Charleston in a championship semifinal at 6 p.m. Thursday.
The Bearcats (1-2) led 2-0 on a putback by Garrett Henson, tied the score at 5 on a 3-pointer by Andrew Ellinghouse -- who later left the game with a leg injury -- and took a 7-6 advantage on a layup by Braxton Foster.
Gargas and Henson paced Dexter with 12 points each.
The remainder of the opening quarter belonged to the Bulldogs, who made their first eight shots. They went 12 of 15 from the field in the period and turned Dexter's five turnovers into eight points.
"We're an up-tempo offense and defense," Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said. "We try to get the pace going. We were fortunate tonight to get some turnovers. I thought we converted turnovers into points. That's our key."
Kevin Jones' 3-pointer gave the Bulldogs a 9-7 lead, and they never trailed again.
Jones scored 10 of his 15 points in the first quarter. Six of those came on 3-pointers. He finished with three overall.
Owen Long made two 3-pointers in the first quarter, and Payton Howard and Parker Long made one each.
Trey Jenkins scored five of his game-high 20 points in the paint in the first quarter, and the Bulldogs took a 31-11 lead into the second.
Howard was the third Sikeston player to score in double figures with 17 points, including three 3-pointers.
The Bulldogs finished with 11 3-pointers, while Dexter had three.
"I thought we actually contested the shots pretty well," Hyten said. "Sikeston just moves the ball so well on the perimeter. You hardly ever see a dribble. It's just catch and pass, catch and pass. Somebody's open and then you get the ball out of the net and take it out because they're going to make it."
Sikeston cooled off offensively in the second quarter, making only nine of 19 attempts but extended its lead to 52-22 by halftime.
The Bulldogs led 71-36 after three quarters, and the running clock was used for almost all of the fourth quarter.
A layup by Ethan Kincy and two free throws by Peyton Driskill trimmed Sikeston's lead to 29 points in the final minute.