Wednesday's game between Sikeston and Scott County Central was arguably the most hyped basketball game in southeast Missouri in recent memory -- perhaps ever.

That said, the game lived up to the hype.

In addition to what we have in today's paper and on our web site, I would like to add a few thoughts of my own about Wednesday's contest.

· Michael Porter simply refused to let Sikeston lose. After being held to nine points in the first half, Porter scored 24 of his game-high 33 points after the break, including Sikeston's final nine points. Porter will almost certainly play Division I college basketball next season, and he showed why Wednesday.

· All four teams that played Wednesday at the Show-Me Center -- Sikeston, SCC, Saxony Lutheran and Oran -- came out winners. In addition to the roughly $8,000 each of the four schools cleared, the atmosphere is good preparation for bigger games in March -- including the state tournament.

· Neal Boyd's rendition of the national anthem was one of the best I've heard. While it is well-known that Boyd has a great voice -- he won NBC's America's Got Talent last season -- his rendition of the Star Spangled Banner was absolutely powerful.

· Finally, I'm not surprised that Wednesday's game was as close as it was. Teams tend to play at a higher than normal level in games like this, which was evident by not only the closeness of the outcome, but also by the fact that both teams combined for just 30 turnovers -- not too many considering the amount of possessions both teams had.

Hopefully this isn't the last time both teams will see each other. Wednesday's contest was the first time both teams faced each other since 1971, but hopefully this will become an annual event.