'Jays rebound; Chaffee loses another close one

MERIDIAN -- Jordy Mixon scored 16 points, while Lezcano Dean and Kewain Gant each finished with 15 in Tuesday's 69-50 win over Meridian, Ill.

"After losing to Doniphan on Tuesday, we bounced back tonight and played a lot better," said Charleston head coach Danny Farmer. "We were a lot more focused. I think losing (to Doniphan) kind of woke us up. We were ready to play."

Charleston led 29-21 at halftime, then opened it up in the second half, outscoring the home team 40-29.

Travis Easley and Jared Staple led Meridian with 14 points each.

Charleston (13-6) will travel to Portageville on Friday. "That is going to be a big test," said Farmer. "We're getting ready to play the No. 5 rated team in the state, so we should be able to get up for that."

CHAFFEE -- Chaffee had a solid defensive effort against Leopold Tuesday night, but failed to generate enough offense, losing to the Wildcats 49-45. "This is the second time in a row now we've held a team under 50 points and still lost," said Chaffee head coach David Mirly. "Our defense has been playing with some intensity. We've been rebounding, blocking out and doing what we have to do to win -- we just can't seem to make a basket to get us over the top."

Chaffee outscored Leopold 34-28 in the second half, but failed to overcome the lead Leopold built in the first half. Kevin Holzum led the Wildcats with 17 points, followed by Scott VanGennip with 14 and Josh Vandeven with 13.

James Reischman led all Chaffee scorers with 12 points, followed by Andrew Horrell with 10 and Chase Eskew with nine. The Red Devils hit seven 3-pointers in the game, with four coming in the fourth quarter.

"The effort is there," said Mirly. "I'm proud that the guys are working hard and trying to turn it around. If we don't play hard, we'll get blown out. I just hope we can turn the corner some time."

Chaffee (4-14) will host Oak Ridge on Friday.

HAYTI -- The Poplar Bluff Mules improved to 19-3 Tuesday night, beating Hayti on the road, 80-56.

Hayti led 16-13 at the end of the first quarter, but was outscored 24-9 in the second and never recovered.

Tony Webb paced the Mules with 15 points, followed by Ed McComb and Tyler Hansbrough with 14 each. Ben Brummitt finished with 10.

Derek Moore led the Indians with 19.

Hayti (12-8) will travel to Cairo on Friday.

BENTON -- Kelly led by 20 points in the first half and went on to post a Scott-Mississippi Conference victory.

"It's a big one," said Kelly head coach Nick Lampher. "If we can continue to play like we are than we have a chance to win the conference even with al the downfalls we've had. We are playing well right now."

Lance Scheffer paced the Hawks (5-14, 3-0) with 19 points.

Tyler Schlosser had 18 and Major Burger 13. For the Rams (8-12, 3-3), Chad Weatherspoon scored 20 points while Craig Jungers and Tyler Ward added 13 apiece.