Twice in the last 10 seconds, the Hillsboro boys basketball team had the ball under the Sikeston goal with a chance for an inbound pass and a shot to win Tuesday night’s Class 4 sectional.
With 10 seconds to play, Hillsboro senior Gaven Pinkley scanned for an open teammate, but threw the ball into a pack of Bulldogs for a turnover. Sikeston senior Don Larry Jr. was fouled immediately, but missed the first half of a 1-on-1. The Hawks got the rebound and the play moved underneath the Sikeston goal before Bulldogs junior guard Parker Long grabbed the ball and fell out of bounds under his goal.
The Hawks (24-5) had 1.2 seconds to inbound the ball and take a shot. A Hillsboro player never got possession of the ball and the Bulldogs (26-2) escaped Farmington with a 57-56 victory. It’s the second straight season Sikeston came back in the fourth quarter to eliminate the Hawks from the playoffs.
“Both of those times we had the basketball on the baseline under their goal, and Sikeston does a good job with their size and athleticism of clogging up the basket,” Hillsboro head coach Dan Johnson said. “I probably could have done a better job of keeping some timeouts, but we called a couple plays we use, and we didn’t get any looks out of them.”
The Bulldogs, who are the No. 1 ranked Class 4 team in the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association poll, play St. Mary’s (27-3) in the quarterfinals Saturday at Jefferson College.
Saint Louis University recruit Fred Thatch scored a team-high 23 points for Sikeston and showed great presence around the net, making touch shots with both hands. Thatch said he had bronchitis when he played in last year’s playoff run that ended in the quarterfinals against two-time defending Class 4 champion Vashon.
“(Hillsboro) didn’t get to see me in action, so I felt like I owed everybody one and they can leave saying, ‘Fred came to play tonight,’” Thatch said.
It was the second straight year Hillsboro scored 56 points in the sectional round, losing 70-56 to Sikeston last year. The Hawks began the game in a matchup zone, and the team with the lead flip-flopped back and forth with Thatch already piling up nine points and the Bulldogs at an 18-17 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
Thatch poured in 27 points against Cape Girardeau Central in the District 1 championship, but the Tigers outplayed the Bulldogs in the second half.
“Teams play zone defense against us and we shoot very well, but clogged lanes make it difficult for us to shoot,” Thatch said.
Sikeston junior Guy Jenkins opened the second-quarter scoring with a two-handed slam dunk at the front of the rim. After two Pinkley free throws, junior Owen Long made a 3-pointer for Sikeston and the Bulldogs hit the next two baskets from Larry Jr. and Jenkins to run their lead to 27-19. Pinkley scored the last six points of the first half for the Hawks, but Thatch fed Jenkins a nice pass for a bucket to send Sikeston to the break with a 33-25 lead.
When the Hawks run their matchup zone, they keep their big men (Brewer, Pinkley and Isaacson) inside and their guards on the perimeter.
“We were zoning, but we know where (the Bulldogs) like to put (Thatch) in a zone so we try to clog it up and make it tough for him,” Johnson said. “(Thatch) is going to SLU for a reason and we knew that Gaven’s size (6-8) could force him into jump shots or tough, contested finishes.”
A wild third quarter began with Pinkley and Hillsboro junior guard Ben Lampkins nailing treys to cut Sikeston’s lead to 33-31. Thatch answered with a basket but Lampkins struck from downtown again and Pinkley made a shot right in front of Thatch to give the Hawks a 36-35 edge with 4:40 to play in the third. Thatch had an assist and 3-pointer to put the Bulldogs back on top 40-38, but junior Michael Brewer tied the game a few seconds later.
Jenkins completed an old-fashioned 3-point play to give the Bulldogs a 43-40 lead, but Hillsboro senior Isaiah Martin’s electric play in the final few minutes of the third prompted a 10-2 surge for the Hawks who entered the fourth with a 50-45 lead. Martin forced turnovers, and made a bee-line for the basket each time, getting fouled along the way. Twice senior Tyler Isaacson picked up the assist on Martin’s baskets.
Martin’s 14 points were second to Pinkley’s 20 for the Hawks.
“Isaiah was great,” Johnson said. “He saw a spot where he could help his team and he got loose and we hit him with some good passes and he took it to the basket strong like he always does. I couldn’t be prouder of his defensive effort.”
The Hawks’ lead quickly crumbled in the fourth when junior Kevin Jones made a basket and Thatch connected on two foul shots. After Isaacson picked up his third foul, Thatch sank both free throws to put the Bulldogs in front 51-50. Jenkins picked up two fouls on Martin in 23 seconds to end his night, but Martin made just 2 of the 4 foul shots.
Thatch hit a 3-pointer, then stripped Pinkley of the ball and was fouled by Isaacson driving to the basket. Thatch’s two shots from the charity stripe gave Sikeston a 56-53 lead. Isaacson made a free throw before fouling out with 59 seconds left. Martin made the Hawks’ final basket of the season with an assist from Lampkins, who scored nine points.
Johnson used a 6-man rotation the entire game, with senior Austin Fleming coming off the Hawks’ bench. Fleming didn’t score, but was open at the top of the perimeter when Hillsboro had the ball with 10 seconds left.
“We wanted to work a better rotation but we were getting hammered on the boards early, so we couldn’t sub smaller and Ben Lampkins is our best 3-point shooter,” Johnson said. “I don’t think conditioning had anything to do with losing. Holding a team like Sikeston to 57 points, when they average about 80, was a great defensive effort.”