The Charleston Bluejays failed to complete a Missouri sweep of the first round on Friday night, as they fell to the West Memphis Blue Devils 80-63.
"The effort was there and we played hard," Charleston head coach Danny Farmer said. "We played a good team. I'm pleased with the effort."
West Memphis was able to utilize their size difference early on as a couple of the Blue Devils' seniors Anthony Borden (6-10) and Tarvin Gaines (6-5) combined for 10 out of their first 12 points of the first quarter.
The Blue Devils went up 23-11 after the first quarter.
Despite the height difference and falling behind early, the Bluejays mounted a comeback by going on a 13-5 run late in the second quarter to make in a five point deficit going into halftime, 36-31.
"We're still kind of a young ball club," West Memphis head coach Larry Bray said. "We have a lot of kids that haven't played much and right now, we just have to know how to finish it. We just don't have that killer instinct right now. It's going to take awhile to develop it."
Riding that momentum into the second half, Charleston found themselves back into the ballgame by going on a 10-2 run which was highlighted by Donald Dixon who was fouled on a shot to tie the game at 38 points a piece. Dixon missed his free throw attempt but, the Bluejays wound up with the ball a few seconds later and gained their first lead of the game when Dixon knocked down a 3-pointer with 5:30 left in the third quarter to give the Bluejays a 41-38 advantage.
"I just thought that tonight, once we got the lead they kind of relaxed a little bit and thought it was over," Bray said. "But, it's never over until it's over. These are the things I'm trying to tell them."
But, just as soon as it started looking up for the Bluejays, it fell right back down again. West Memphis went on to outscore Charleston 18-7 as soon as the Bluejays took their 3-point lead. The Blue Devils led after the third quarter, 56-49, and continued that trend in the fourth quarter by outscoring them 24-14 in the final quarter.
"Maybe we'll play better tomorrow (Saturday)," Farmer said about getting their first game behind them. "That's what it's all about."
Charleston (0-1) and West Memphis (5-0) both played in the second round of the Riverbend Classic on Saturday. Detail from those games will be in the Monday edition of the Standard Democrat.
Poplar Bluff 70, Memphis Central 55
Riley Raulston opened his senior year with a bang Friday afternoon at the Riverbend Classic.
Raulston scored 39 points and had 12 rebounds to lead the Mules to a season-opening 70-55 win over Memphis Central.
The Mules trailed for just a few seconds after Central, which won 22 games last season and is ranked eighth in the greater Memphis area, scored first. Raulston answered with a 3-pointer, the first of his seven, as Poplar Bluff put together a 9-0 run. T he Mules finished the game on a 15-0 run.
Central's Cameron Clear tied the game at 55-55 with 3:56 left in the fourth quarter but Poplar Bluff's Chris Kilgore scored on a spinning move in the paint. Riley later canned another 3 from the top of the key then got a defensive rebound setting up Kilgore's reverse layin for a 62-55 lead with 2:06 left.
Riley put an exclamation point on the win with a thunderous dunk in the final minute after a rebound and long pass from brother Jay, who did not hit a field goal but was 5-of-7 at the free-throw line.
-- Poplar Bluff's story was provided by Brian Rosener (SMNS)