Charleston rolls to semifinals with 70-41 rout of Notre Dame

Charleston guard Marcus Biles scored 15 points in Saturday's win against Notre Dame (Photo by David Jenkins, Staff)

CAPE GIRARDEAU - Notre Dame held top-seed Charleston to 15 points in the first and third quarters combined on Saturday at the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament at the Show Me Center.

Unfortunately for the No. 8 Bulldogs, in the second and fourth quarters Charleston scored 55 points en route to a 70-41 quarterfinal win.

The Blue Jays will play Jackson at 6 p.m. Monday in the semifinals.

"They came to play, everyone comes to play against us," Charleston coach Danny Farmer said. "They stepped it up to another level. But we've been able to respond every time another team tries to take it to another level."

Despite a 2-6 record, Notre Dame came out fired up against the state's top-ranked Class 3 team. The Bulldogs scored the first eight points of the game and did not allow a Blue Jay basket the first five minutes of the quarter. After one quarter Notre Dame led 8-6.

"I think we came out pretty heated for the beginning," Notre Dame coach Darrin Scott said. "I felt like we rebounded well during the first quarter, and for a while we did exactly what we wanted to do."

Charleston freshman Jamarcus Williams converted a three-point play 15 seconds into the second quarter to give the Blue Jays their first lead. After a Bryce Willen three-point play for Notre Dame made the score 14-12, Charleston went on a 9-0 run to spread the lead to 23-12.

By halftime the lead had grown to 28-14.

"We just came out and we weren't ready to play," Charleston senior Joshua Strayhorn said. "So we just came out and started relaxing out there and just went out and played."

After letting the lead get to 14, the Bulldogs came out in the second half and stepped up their defensive pressure once again. The teams traded baskets throughout the quarter with a John Eric Klein basket bringing Notre Dame to within nine at 32-23 midway through the third. Charleston got the lead back to 11 before Willen hit three free throws with a second remaining to bring the score to 37-29 at the end of the quarter.

"I think I was most proud of our third quarter," Scott said.

Notre Dame's comeback was short-lived. After Mark Unterreiner's basket made the score 39-31 early in the fourth quarter, it would be nearly five minutes before Notre Dame would score again.

Charleston finally took hold of the game, going on a 16-0 run to spread the lead to 55-31 with less than three minutes remaining. Marcus Biles and Strayhorn combined for 14 points during the run. Strayhorn finished with a game-high 23 points and Biles had 15. Ashton Farmer added 11 for Charleston.

"We've got a lot of weapons," Strayhorn said. "All five starters are weapons and the guys coming off the bench, they could be starters."

Willen led Notre Dame with 22 points.

NOTRE DAME (41) - John Eric Klein 9, Bryce Willen 22, Mark Unterreiner 8, Jeremy Brinkmeyer 1. FG 14, FT 11-17, F 21 (3-pointers: Klein 1, Willen 1. Fouled out: Unterreiner)

CHARLESTON (70) - Ashton Farmer 11, Marcus Biles 15, Trentez Lane 5, Joshua Strayhorn 23, Jamarcus Williams 6, Moses Gater 6, George Rigney 3. FG 26, FT 12-27, F 17 (3-pointers: Rigney 1, Gater 2, Lane 1, Strayhorn 3. Fouled out: none)

Scott City 72, Advance 57

Scott City had one 3-pointer in the first half and trailed Advance by four points on Saturday night in the quarterfinals.

The Rams' frustrations ended in the second half as their long-distance call was finally answered. The third-seeded Rams hit eight 3-pointers after halftime, five in the third quarter, and pulled away late for a 72-57 win over the sixth-seeded Hornets.

Scott City (7-0) will play Central in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. on Monday.

Advance got within two points several times in the fourth quarter but could not get the lead back. Dannenmueller and Schlosser each finished with 18 points, the pair combining for 34 second-half points.

Ward finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds and Johnston had 16 points and nine rebounds. Dustin Kalinski led Advance (4-3) with 19 points and Tyler Bowman had 12.

ADVANCE (57) - Drew Sherman 6, Jeremy Limbaugh 9, Dustin Kalinski 19, Daryl Wade 5, Tyler Bowman 12, James Masters 2, Alex Sample 2, Ryland Dunivan 2. FG 23, FT 5-5, F 19 (3-pointers: Kalinski 2, Bowman 2, Limbaugh 1. Fouled out: none)

SCOTT CITY (72) - Jeremy Schlosser 18, Mark Dannenmueller 18, Tyler Ward 13, Mark Johnston 16, Ryan Glastetter 4, Steve Sanford 3. FG 25, FT 12-19, F 11 (3-pointers: Schlosser 4, Dannenmueller 4, Sanford 1. Fouled out: none)

Cape Central 84, Scott County Central 69

Seventh-seeded Scott County Central gave No. 2 Cape Girardeau Central a scare for three quarters Saturday night, but the Tigers pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat the Braves 84-69 in the quarterfinals.

"We definitely got a reality check in the first few minutes," Central senior Ryan Delph said. "We underestimated them."

Delph scored 20 points, but the Tigers (8-2) were led by junior Scott Chestnutt with 24 points and 15 rebounds.

The Braves (6-5) were led by senior Chris Pullen, who had 21 points.

Pullen had a triple-double in Friday night's first-round game against Kelly with 33 points, 11 blocks and 11 rebounds.Scott County trailed Central most of the first half, but not by much.

The Braves tied the game with 1:36 left in the first half and trailed only 33-31 at halftime.

Central went on a 7-0 run late in the third quarter to extend its lead to 55-46 after three quarters.

Pullen, who was in foul trouble most of the game, fouled out early in the fourth quarter.

Central immediately capitalized.

"We got re-committed to our game plan, which was to be patient and get the ball inside," Tigers coach Derek McCord said. "We wanted to just change up the tempo a little bit."

Chestnutt scored nine points in the final quarter and helped Central go on a 9-0 run to balloon the lead to 16.

"When Chris fouled out, they spread the court and we were forced to go into our man-to-man defense and they have more speed and quickness. It was definitely an advantage for them," Braves coach Melvin Porter said.

Central made several hustle plays in the fourth quarter when it appeared the Braves were fatigued.

The Tigers outrebounded the Braves 40-26 in the game.

"Our big men, outside of Chris, didn't step up and do the kind of things they had to do to win against a good team," Porter said.

Avis White and Isaac Porter finished with 12 points apiece for the Braves. Eli Harris added with 12 points and five assists for the Tigers.

Central advances to Monday's semifinal to face Scott City, which will pit Central's coach Derek McCord against his former school for the first time ever.

Scott Co. (69) - Chris Pullen 21, Avis White 12, Jeremy Johnson 9, Chris Monroe 8, Isaac Porter 12, Andrew Pullen 4, Ray Rodgers 3. FG 28, FT 10-15, F 18 (3-pointers: Rodgers 1. Fouled out: C. Pullen)

Central (82) - Ryan Delph 20, Scott Chestnutt 24, Eli Harris 12, Todd Obergoenner 2, Jake Knepp 9, Will Johnson 9, Alex Espinoza 2, Larenzo Braxton 4. FG 28, FT 16-21, F 15 (3-pointers: Delph 1, Johnson 1, Harris 1. Fouled out: none)

Jackson 79, Bell City 63

Dominitrix Johnson put on a second straight show-stopping performance.

But Jackson overcame Bell City's brilliant senior guard to come away with a 79-63 quarterfinal victory at the Show Me Center Saturday night.

The fourth-seeded Indians improved to 9-1 and won for the ninth straight time. They'll play top-seeded Charleston at 6 p.m. Monday in the semifinals. The fifth-seeded Cubs fell to 7-2 and will play Notre Dame in Monday's fifth-place semifinals.

Johnson, after scoring 47 points during Friday's first-round win over Meadow Heights, poured in 43 points Saturday. He was Bell City's only double-figure scorer.

Johnson had 23 first-half points as the Cubs led 37-34 at the intermission.

Things remained tight for most of the second half. The contest was tied 57-57 midway through the fourth quarter when Jack Puisis hit consecutive 3-pointers to open a 63-57 lead for Jackson. The Indians then were able to pull away down the stretch.

"That was the big difference. It changed the whole game," said Jackson coach Mike Kiehne of the two Puisis 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

"We were kind of able to settle down after that and run the offense a lot easier. I felt like it gave us some breathing room after that."

Puisis and Jason Schafer paced the Indians with 22 points apiece. Tyler McNeely added 21. Puisis hit four 3-pointers.

"I think our defense was a little better in the second half rather than the first," Kiehne said. "I didn't want to double-team Johnson and have some other players beat us."

BELL CITY (63) - Dominitrix Johnson 43, Derek Pobst 4, Blaine Stewart 2, Zak McIntyre 8, Randy Conn 1, Tyler Victor 5. FG 22, FT 15-21, F 22 (3-pointers: Johnson 1, McIntyre 2, Victor 1. Fouled out: none)

JACKSON (79) - Brad Eaton 8, Ryan Mirly 2, Nick Fiehler 2, Jack Puisis 22, Tyler Beussink 2, Tyler McNeely 21, Jason Schafer 22. FG 27, FT 17-22, F 21 (3-pointers: Eaton 2, Puisis 4, McNeely 1, Schafer 1. Fouled out: none)

Delta 71, Chaffee 20

Led by senior forward Zack Kelley's 26 points, the ninth-seeded Delta Bobcats rolled past No. 16 Chaffee 71-20 in the consolation bracket.

The Bobcats (4-4) outscored the Red Devils 17-3 in the first quarter and never looked back. Their lead jumped to 39-8 at halftime.

Aaron Kinder and Derek Heldermen both added 11 points for the Bobcats.

Richard Hinkebein paced Chaffee (0-7) with nine points as the Red Devils were eliminated from the tournament. Delta will face Meadow Heights on Monday in the consolation semifinals.

DELTA (71) -Zack Kelley 26, Aaron Kinder 11, Richard Heldermen 11, Kevin Bartels 8, Daniel Cook 6, Cody Crowden 6, Brent Menz 3. FG 28, FT 3-10, F 12 (3-pointers: Kinder 1, Heldermen 1, Crowden 2. Fouled out: none)

CHAFFEE (20) - Richard Hinkebein 9, Brad Uhrhan 3, Brandon Davis 2, Matt Sanders 2, Gabe Walter 2, Tyler Graham 2. FG 3, FT 8-12, F 10 (3-pointers: Uhrhan 1, Hinkebein 1. Fouled out: none)

Kelly 74, Oak Ridge 44

No. 10 Kelly clawed its way to a 30-point victory and eliminated No. 15 Oak Ridge. Chris Romas paced the Hawks (3-5) with 16 points. Josh Jones added 14.

Kelly led 40-29 at halftime and pulled away in the second half.

Oak Ridge (0-8) got 18 points from Austin Morrison. Austin Hahs added 16. Kelly faces Woodland in the consolation semifinals.

KELLY (74) - Chris Romas 16, Josh Jones 14, Kendal Deason 9, Michael Glastetter 9, Trey Simmons 8, Brooks Edmonds 7, Derek Felter 4, Kent Deason 4, Clay Mothershead 2, Trent Walter 1. FG 23, FT 22-34, F 16 (3-pointers: Deason 1, Romas 1. Fouled out: none)

OAK RIDGE (44) - Austin Morrison 18, Austin Hahs 16, Kody Engler 4, Tyler Myers 2, Brian Ruesler 2, Terry Bogenpohl 2. FG 11, FT 10-14, F 25 (3-pointers: Morrison 4. Fouled out: Morrison, Myers, Ruesler)

Woodland 59, Oran 53

Aided by 28 points from center Travis Benfield, Woodland staved off a late Oran rally and eliminated the Eagles.

The 11th-seeded Cardinals, who led 23-13 at halftime, used hot shooting from the 3-point line to finish off No. 14 Oran. Cody McCraw added 10 points for the Cardinals (7-2).

Leading scorers for Oran (1-6) were Matt Seyer with 16, Ryan Bouge with 15 and Garrett Roslen with 14.

WOODLAND (59) - Travis Benfield 28, Cody McCraw 10, Brandon Cowell 8, Chad Hulvey 6, Anthony Grojean 5, Gaines 2. FG 23, FT 13-18, F 18 (3-pointers: none Fouled out: none)

ORAN (53) - Matt Seyer 16, Ryan Bouge15, Garrett Roslen 14, Craig Friga 6, Trevor Irwin 2. FG 12, FT 11-24, F 16 (3-pointers: Bouge 3, Seyer 3. Fouled out: none)

Meadow Heights 77, Leopold 57

Senior guard Brad Adams led the No. 12 Panthers with 26 points as they eliminated No. 13 Leopold.The Panthers raced out to an 18-12 lead after the first quarter and never looked back.

Terry Wagner added 16 points for Meadow Heights (5-3) while Anthony Bollinger and Heath Fulton both had 14. A.J. Seiler led Leopold (2-5) with 15 points.

Lucas Horrell had 14 and Brandon Bueter 13.

MEADOW HEIGHTS (77) - Brad Adams 26, Terry Wagner 16, Heath Fulton 14, Anthony Bollinger 14, Evan Kamp 5. FG 16, FT 18-25, F 22 (3-pointers: Fulton 2, Bollinger 1, Adams 4, Wagner 2. Fouled out: none)

LEOPOLD (57) - Lucas Horrell 14, A.J. Seiler 15, Brandon Bueter 13, Kelly Stause 7, Michael Vandeven 5, Thiele 3. FG 11, FT 17-28, F 18 (3-pointers: Thiele 1, Horrell 3, Seiler 2. Fouled out: none)