Charleston survives tough test from Caruthersville in semis

sports@standard-democrat.com

BLOOMFIELD -- With his team winning so many lopsided games during the regular season, Charleston head coach Danny Farmer entered the Class 3, District 1 Tournament worried his team might have become a little overconfident.

Not helping matters was the Bluejays 80-40 quarterfinals rout of Twin Rivers despite the absence of leading scorer Greg Tucker.

Farmer's fears were realized on Wednesday when the Bluejays were forced to rally back after a sluggish first half to beat Caruthersville 62-55 in the semifinals.

"We needed this kind of game," Farmer said. "We needed a wake up call and that's what this was for us. When the coach can't get it through, then they can see it for themselves and that will make them pick it up and become a little more focused."

Dropping into a 12-6 hole in the first five minutes of the contest, the Bluejays struggled through the first two quarters to find a consistent rhythm. Though Charleston came back to take a 24-20 lead early in the second frame, the Tigers were able to hold the Bluejays without a basket the final five minutes of the half.

That defensive performance allowed Caruthersville to close out the second quarter on a 12-2 run to take a six-point advantage, at 32-26, into the locker room.

"I thought our help defense was as good as it's been all year," Tigers' coach David Heeb said. "We really frustrated them. You just hope that you make a couple more shots when you're playing defense like that so you can build a little bit more of a lead because Charleston has that heart of a champion.

"You might have knocked them down but they're not ever going to stay there."

With their district championship and state title hopes now in jeopardy, Farmers' words quickly sunk in on the Bluejays as they opened the second half with a renewed energy.

Charleston quickly closed back to within a point of Caruthersville in the opening minutes of the third quarter before taking their first lead in over eight minutes of play on a 3-pointer from Tucker with 2:58 left in the frame.

Tucker's three came as part of a 13-2 Bluejays rally where they held the Tigers to a single bucket in the final four minutes of the third.

"We turned the pressure up," Farmer said of his team's rally. "We knew it was going to take its toll sooner or later. We put the pressure on them and our games always turn out like that at the end. They can't sustain it and they start turning the ball over."

With momentum clearly in their favor and the Tigers looking fatigued, Charleston pushed ahead 51-40 in the opening minute of the fourth off a couple buckets from Tucker and Krushon Scott.

Calling a timeout, Caruthersville responded by closing back to within two possessions on a 6-1 run that had the the Tigers trailing 52-46 with 4:30 to play.

Taking advantage of a few missed three's by Caruthersville, the Bluejays were able push back out by 10 points with two minutes remaining, allowing Charleston to start stalling.

With the Tigers forced to foul after Charleston ran nearly a minute off the clock, the Bluejays hit only one free throw on their next three trips to the line, giving Caruthersville a chance to close back to within four on a short jumper from Darrell Monroe.

Monroe's shot came with only 26 seconds to play, however, and the Bluejays closed out going 3 of 6 from the charity stripe while forcing a pair of turnovers on two of the Tigers' final drives to avoid the upset.

"Their pressure in the third quarter was unbelievable," Heeb said of Charleston second half run.. "We got some looks, but everything we got in the third quarter was so contested. You could see it on our last couple of jump shots. Even in the fourth quarter on some free throws, our legs were gone."

Leading the Bluejays was Aaron Cassell with a game-high 22 points, including 10 in the first quarter. He shot 7 of 13 from the field while hitting three of Charleston's eight 3-pointers on the night.

"He carried us," Farmer said. "We've done that the whole year. We have somebody carrying us at one time when we're not doing very well. Cassell happened to be the man tonight."

Behind Cassell, Tucker had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds while Ryan Parham scored five points to go along with seven assists and four steals.

For the Tigers, Monroe's 20 points were a team-high with Elbie Fonda adding 10 points to Caruthersville's cause.

"We had chances," Heeb said. "The kids didn't quit, we just didn't hit a couple of big buckets that could have been momentum changers and they did. This time of year you get in a win or go home game. Everybody looks at the scoreboard in March sometime and says, 'Is tonight the night we go home?'

"I told the boys they just gave Charleston one of those nights. They had to get back up off the canvas so you just give credit to Charleston. We didn't lose, we got beat. They played well."

Charleston will play Kennett for the district title on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Kennett has won the last 14 games they have played in the Bloomfield High School gym, with their last loss coming to Malden in December of 2008.

Charleston 17 9 21 15 - 62

Caruthersville 18 14 8 15 - 55

CHARLESTON (62) -- Aaron Cassell 22, Ryan Parham 5, Michael Hull 8, Greg Tucker 19, Krushon Scott 6, Darrion Carter 2. FG 21, FT 12-25, F 14. (3-pointers: Cassell 3, Hull 2, Tucker 3. Fouled out: Tucker.)

CARUTHERSVILLE (55) -- Jamal Johnson 9, Steven Rodgers 8, Elbie Fonda 10, Tyler Cobb 8, Darrell Monroe 20. FG 23, FT 8-14, F 20. (3-pointers: Johnson 1. Fouled out: Johnson.)

Kennett 59, Doniphan 51

BLOOMFIELD -- Led by Antonia Primer's 24 points, the Kennett Indians clinched a spot in the district championship game with a 59-51 win over Doniphan.

With Kennett clinging to a one-point lead going into the fourth quarter, Primer scored 12 points in the final frame as the Indians pulled away with a 15-5 run in the first three minutes, 36 seconds of the fourth.

The Don's clawed back to within five points with 30 seconds to play on a Dillon Dusza shot behind the arc, but a costly turnover and missed 3-pointer sealed the loss.

Derek Hutchins and Dusza finished with 15 and 12 points respectively for the Dons while Brian Patterson pitched in 10 points.

Kennett 10 17 10 22 - 59

Doniphan 18 13 5 15 - 51

KENNETT (59) -- Antavies Drake 10, Cameron Harper 3, Kevonte Mitchell 11, Adam Grantham 5, Antonia Primer 24, Jajuan Wallace 4, Divante Taylor 2. FG 25, FT 8-19, F 13. (3-pointers: Mitchell 1. Fouled out: none.)

DONIPHAN (51) -- Hunter Smith 8, Cody Mullins 2, Taylor Holland 2, Dillon Dusza 12, Brian Patterson 10, Derek Hutchins 15, Ryan Daniels 2. FG 19, FT 6-10, F 20. (3-pointers: Smith 2, Dusza 2, Hutchins 3. Fouled out: Patterson.)