Charleston tops district counterpart Caruthersville

sports@standard-democrat.com

CHARLESTON -- The Charleston Bluejays didn't shy away from Caruthersville's physical play.

As a matter of fact, they met it head on.

Charleston's Delfinko Bogan races past Caruthersville's Demetrius Hyles for a layup on Tuesday night in Charleston. (David Jenkins photo)

Charleston's Delfinko Bogan races past Caruthersville's Demetrius Hyles for a layup on Tuesday night in Charleston. (David Jenkins photo)

The Bluejays continuously attacked the basket, created foul trouble and splintered the Tigers' lineup in the process on their way to an 84-65 win Tuesday at Charleston High School.

"We fouled the ones we needed to foul out," Charleston's Delfincko Bogan said. "We matched up with them and played good defense on (Darrell) Monroe and Jamal (Johnson)."

Bogan, a 5-11 junior, paced all scorers with 34 points. He shot 9 of 21 from the floor and made good use of numerous trips to the free throw line shooting 16 of 20. Senior Shandor Webster added 23 points and 15 rebounds and also shot 57 percent (8 of 14) from the floor.

This win almost assures Charleston (15-5) the No. 1 seed in February during the Class 3, District 1 tournament. The Bluejays already own wins over district foes New Madrid County Central, Malden and now Caruthersville.

"It's a fight for the district and the No. 1 seed so we had to win," Webster said.

Hampered by foul trouble, Caruthersville's leading scorer, Darrell Monroe, still led his team with 17 points. All of his points were scored in the first half as he rarely saw the floor in the third and fourth quarters. Monroe picked up his second and third fouls less than a minute into the second half. He committed his fourth right before the fourth quarter began.

"At one time we had 14 fouls and two on them," Caruthersville head coach Smith said. "We had four people foul out. We're used to playing Bootheel basketball, but anytime you come into Charleston with a wall full of banners you're going to get calls. The main thing was our chemistry was off because four of my starters had to play limited time due to foul trouble."

Caruthersville, who averages 88 points per game, ended with 31 team fouls. Starters Monroe, Jamal Johnson, Coleman Tramble and Tyrone Alston all fouled out. Alston was the only other player to reach double-figures.

"We wanted to slow their guards down," Webster said about defending Caruthersville. "They have three guards that average around 20-plus. We wanted to lock down on their guards and make sure they couldn't get the ball inside to Monroe."

Early on, Monroe posed as the problem he's been all season for opposing teams.

The 6-2 senior dominated under the basket and scored eight points in the first quarter giving the Tigers an early 13-11 advantage. He added nine more in the second but Charleston began to extend their lead by halftime to and hold a 39-31 advantage entering the second half.

"He's about 220 (pounds), but you've got to put a body on him because he can jump real high," Webster said about guarding Monroe. "We had to play help defense against him, just like we did against Willie Jimerson."

"We wanted to try and keep (Monroe) from catching the ball," Farmer added. "We wanted a backside guy to help off and double team him and leave that 3-point shooter open on the other end."

After Monroe exited the floor early in the third quarter, the Bluejays took advantage with a steady diet of inside buckets. They outscored the Tigers, who shot 38 percent (14 of 36) from the floor in the first half, 22-13 and held a 61-44 lead going into the final period.

"They're very athletic and a very good team," said Farmer about Caruthersville. "I was concerned about them getting offensive rebounds and putting it back in. We handled that well and I was pleased with the effort."

Bogan closed the door on Caruthersville (17-2) in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 points and going a perfect 8 of 8 from the free throw line. Charleston's 19-point win margin was their biggest lead of the night.

"When you can't breath on a kid without getting called a foul you can't hardly guard them," Smith said. "(Bogan is) a phenomenal player. He's the best finisher around the rim I've seen in a long time. We were going to try and isolate him and try to keep him from getting the ball. That didn't work too well."

Charleston struggled from the floor as a team shooting 43 percent (27 of 62). They went 28 of 43 (65 percent) from the charity stripe.

"We didn't shoot that great from outside," Bogan said. "But, we got the fouls and made most of our free throws and hit most of our layups like usual.

"It's a great win," Bogan added. "They're a good team and we came out and played hard. We just did our thing."

Caruthersville 19 12 13 21 -- 65

Charleston 22 17 22 23 -- 84

CARUTHERSVILLE (65) -- Jamal Johnson 7, Jeremy Grant 9, Dayshawn Lee 8, Coleman Tramble 3, Tyler Grissom 2, Darrell Monroe 17, Malik Monroe 8, Tyrone Alston 11. FG 28 FT 6-21 F 31. (3-pointers: Johnson 1, Lee 1, Alston 1. Fouled out: Johnson, Tramble, D. Monroe, Alston.)

CHARLESTON (84) -- Kelvondre Moore 7, Robert Bogan 6, Delfincko Bogan 34, Demontrail Clark 3, Shandor Webster 23, Michael Kellum 3, Timontrell Horton 8. FG 27 FT 28-43 F 19. (3-pointers: Webster 2. Fouled out: none.)