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'Jays roll through Dons in state-ranked battle
CHARLESTON -- A first-half clinic propelled the Charleston Bluejays to victory over the Doniphan Dons.
Charleston played near-flawless basketball on both ends of the court for a 47-30 halftime lead en route to an 83-65 win over Doniphan on Monday. "We played a very good game, defensively and offensively, against a very good team tonight," said Charleston coach Danny Farmer. "We won on the boards and with our inside game."
On Senior Night at Charleston, it was the Bluejays' senior captain Jamarcus Williams who set the tone. Williams, a 6-foot-5 post, logged a double-double of 25 points and 15 rebounds, both game highs, and also dealt five assists.
"Jamarcus wanted to play well on his last night on his homecourt," said Farmer.
Charleston (22-3), ranked No. 2 in the latest Class 3 poll, softened up the eighth-ranked Dons (20-4) with Williams' inside play.
"That's what we wanted to do," said Farmer, "punch the ball in to Williams."
Shawn Sherrell, the Bluejays' steady senior point guard, put up 18 points off a variety of dribble drives, jumpers and one-handers. Sherrell's six assists topped the Charleston team total of 24.
"We didn't defend the post well, we didn't defend the perimeter well, we didn't defend anything well and we gave up a lot of offensive rebounds," said Doniphan coach Jason Andrews. "We did not execute that fundamental all night and we got creamed because of it."
The 'Jays grabbed 36 rebounds -- 16 on the offensive end.
Charleston, with Williams scoring eight and Sherrell six, led 18-14 after one quarter. A huge 29-point second quarter literally buried the Dons.
"I think it had an effect on them," Farmer said, of the Bluejays' first-half domination. "I think they were down a little."
Off the bench, Jerquawn Sherrell scored eight points, including Charleston's only two 3-pointers, and Markale Kent chipped in with five points in the pivotal second period.
"Our bench -- Jerquawn Sherrell, Jerrell Quinn, Garyion Johnson and Kent -- played well," said Farmer, who got 25-point production from his reserves.
Quinn's five points and Johnson's four backed Williams and Sherrell's combined 14 in a 26-point third quarter which ended with the 'Jays up 73-51.
Charleston, with Williams leading the way with a 10-for-13 shooting performance from the free-throw line, hit 19-of-24 (79 percent).
Defensively, Charleston held the Dons' dangerous outside shooters in check. "They shoot the ball so well, we wanted to keep pressure on their shooters," said Farmer.
Adam Carpenter paced the Dons with 21 points, including three treys. Charles Wilson added 13, Nick Webb 12 and Tyler Collins 11.
It's on to the postseason for the Bluejays who open their state title run against Caruthersville at the Class 3, District 1 Tournament on Monday at 4 p.m.
"We need to get focused and we showed it tonight," said Farmer. "The way we see it is there is no tomorrow. We need to win seven games in a row."
Note: Charleston's Williams and Justin Clark were announced as McDonald's High School All-American candidates.
Charleston's JV defeated Doniphan 72-33.
Donald Dixon's 16 points led the Bluejays. Marquez Ware added 14 and Mackenzie Ivy 12.
Oran had four scorers in double figures in a home win.
Chase Seyer led the Eagles with 18 points, Robert Lange had 17, Hunter Glastetter had 12 and Chris Asmus added 11 points.
Seth Gaines led the Cardinals with 32 points and Chad Gaines had 15 points.
Chaffee was plagued by poor free throw shooting in a home loss to Meadow Heights.
The Red Devils (8-15) shot just 4-for-17 from the line. Andy Hendrix led Chaffee with 24 points.
Derrick Wilfong had 19 points to lead Meadow Heights (8-14) .
Saxony Lutheran finished its regular season at 21-3 with a home win.
Alex Jauch led the Crusaders with 29 points and 10 rebounds. Clay Obergoenner had 21 points.
Max Wieser added 15 points and Austin Kwikkel added 10 rebounds.
The Braves won their 20th game, beating the host Hornets.
"Advance has got a good ballclub, but our pressure hurt them a little bit," Braves coach Ronnie Cookson said. "Toby Heeb came off the bench and sparked us with a couple of 3s."
Scott County Central carries a 20-4 record into its home finale Friday against Delta, which it could play against Monday in district play.
Leopold used a balanced attack to sink Oak Ridge at home on senior night.
Darren VanGennip led the Wildcats (11-11) with 20 points.
Corey Yount added 18, including four 3-pointers, Eric Fluchel netted 14 points and Matt Stoverink had 13 points.
Garret Light led Oak Ridge with 29 points, and Dustin Meyr added 15.
Scott City outscored Portageville 45-27 in the first half and held on for a road victory.
Jay Simmons led the Rams with 18 points, including four 3-pointers. Caleb Estes netted 16 points and Rynn Eskew added 12.
ESSEX -- The Richland Rebels put together a fourth quarter rally but came up short against Stoddard County rival Puxico, 69-66.
Richland (10-12) trailed 36-33 at the half and fell behind 52-43 heading into the final frame.
Richland was led by Cameron Whittaker's 28 points.
Nick Harris had 12 and Drew Thornton had 10 points.
Richland plays at Cooter on Thursday.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
ARNOLD -- Central used big second and fourth quarters to pull away from Fox for a 52-41 victory and move on to the semifinals of the Class 5 District 1 at Fox in Arnold.
Central will play top-seeded Jackson at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Wendi Zickfield paced the fourth-seeded Tigers (11-13) with 13 points. Christina Sexton netted 11 points and Sadie Pittman added nine.