It was a physical, intense game, but the Sikeston Bulldogs kept their undefeated season alive on Tuesday night at New Madrid County Central. The Eagles were fired up on their Senior Night and played with emotional passion in front of the large home crowd, but Sikeston had too many weapons and secured the 83-70 win. Sikeston’s victory clinched the SEMO Conference regular season title for the fourth straight year and the ninth time in the last 11 years. Prior to the streak, Sikeston had only won the conference title three times in school history. “It’s such a good conference, probably the best conference in the state of Missouri,” Sikeston coach Gregg Holifield said. “To be able to win it again says a lot about our players and our program. It’s never easy. Any given night, any team in this conference can beat you so you have to show up to play every time.” It didn’t come easy on Tuesday either, as Sikeston only led 43-36 at the half against an NMCC team that has had its ups and downs this season. NMCC (10-13, 1-7 SEMO Conference) had a game-plan of making things physical and extending its defense out to the perimeter against the Bulldogs – determined not to let Sikeston beat them from 3-point range. The Bulldogs hit 6 of 12 from beyond the arc, well under the team’s average, but that defensive perimeter pressure allowed Sikeston to control the paint, most notably Trey Jenkins. The 6-foot-7 senior led the Bulldogs with 27 points to match a season-high. He also had 14 rebounds with four blocked shots and three assists. “He’s just such a good player,” Holifield said of Jenkins. “I thought our guys in the fourth quarter did a great job of trying to find him. We have to do more of that. We are a dribble-drive motion offense and sometimes we get hung up over-dribbling. We’re trying to work to get better with that.” The Bulldogs used a big third quarter to extend its lead to 63-49 entering the final quarter. Sikeston put the game away from there, leading by as much as 82-64 before the Eagles’ Ansel Underwood hit a pair of 3-pointers late. “I thought our intensity up on the ball was good, but our back-line defense, our help-line wasn’t good,” Holifield said. “We have to get better in that area. I thought we got to standing and got sluggish in the second half defensively. But you have to give New Madrid credit, they were attacking and doing some good things.” Senior guard Kevin Jones scored 18 points with four steals and two blocks while junior guard Payton Howard added 17 points with five assists and three steals. Senior Parker Long had nine points with seven assists. NMCC was led by junior Kevon Williams with 21 points. Senior Thailin Marsh added 14 points. “I thought it was a hard-fought game,” Holifield said. “It was very physical. Our guys handled certain situations very well, but there were some situations that we did not handle very well. We just have to improve every day and understand the direction we’re going. We get every team’s best, which makes you a better team. We have to learn to handle adversity and pull together as a team.” Sikeston (21-0, 7-0 SEMO Conference) has defeated NMCC 12 straight times and have won 20 of the last 21 meetings against the Eagles. The Bulldogs will host Caruthersville on Thursday at 6 p.m. Sikeston 25 18 20 20 — 83 NMCC 22 14 13 21 — 70 SIKESTON (83) – Trey Jenkins 27, Kevin Jones 18, Payton Howard 17, Parker Long 9, Nick Harrison 6, Tra Ranson 3, Owen Long 3. FG 36, FT 5-11, F 11. (3-pointers: Howard 2, Jones 2, Ranson 1, O. Long 1. Fouled out: none). NMCC (70) – Kevon Williams 21, Thailin Marsh 14, Ansel Underwood 12, Christian Phillips 8, Donnie Ray Brown 7, Johhnie Walker 4, Bryshawn Williams 4. FG 31, FT 4-10, F 14. (3-pointers: Phillips 2, Underwood 2. Fouled out: none). Junior varsity Sikeston’s J.V. team improved to 15-3 with a 68-34 win over NMCC. Leroy Atkins led the Bulldogs with 20 points. Colby Henson scored 12 points while Kenyon Smith added 10 points with five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Cleo Taylor led the team with seven rebounds. Sikeston 13 19 16 20 — 68 NMCC 6 10 13 5 — 34 SIKESTON (68) – Leroy Atkins 20, Colby Henson 12, Kenyon Smith 10, Nick Harrison 5, Lontas McClinton 4, Cleo Taylor 4, Tylen Pobst 3, Daniel Lawrence 2, Johnny Adams 2, Cordaius Webb 2, Carson Beaird 2, Heath McCain 2. FG 26, FT 8-20, F 14. (3-pointers: Atkins 4, Henson 4. Fouled out: none). NMCC (34) – Kenyon King 13, Kylan Minner 6, Grae Palmer 3, Jaden McFerren 3, Terrance Cranford 3, Keeshawn Word 2, Meliek Chalmers 2, Macelous Phillips 2. FG 12, FT 7-11, F 17. (3-pointers: Minner 1, McFerren 1, King 1. Fouled out: Palmer).