2023 Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament: Owens sends Charleston to semifinals with big offensive performance

The Charleston Blue Jays clinched their spot in the 2023 Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament semifinals with a 67-52 win over the Kelly Hawks on Wednesday.

Once again the Kelly attack was ignited early by Ross Peters who knocked down three threes in the opening frame as the Hawks raced out to a quick 10-3 lead in the first quarter.

While it was Peters helping Kelly race out to the early lead, Charleston withstood the early Kelly run courtesy of 14 first quarter points from Ko’Terrion Owens, good enough to give the Blue Jays a 19-17 lead after the opening frame.

“He’s our catalyst,” Charleston coach Jamarcus Williams said. “We need him to do that often, if not every night. I’m not saying we don’t have other guys who can’t do it but whenever he gets going like that it opens up the game for everyone else.”

After trailing 17-16, the Blue Jays went on an 8-0 run that spanned between the first and second quarters.

Perhaps the highlight of that run was a pretty spin and score in the lane by junior Tayshon Clark.

“Tayshon is skilled,” Williams said. “He can score and we’ve had games this year where he’s had the hot hand. He’s scored close to 30 points in a couple games.”

What was a two-point Charleston lead after the first quarter became a 35-27 lead entering the locker room at halftime.

“We wanted to control the game and control the tempo,” Williams said. “I thought we did a mediocre job of doing that in the first-half.”

The second half began with the Hawks taking charge as they went on a 9-0 run to trim the lead to three halfway through the third quarter.

Kelly’s run was snapped by Clark who drove the lane, took the contact and scored the basket to push Charleston’s lead back to six.

Despite the answer by Clark, the Hawks wouldn’t be denied as Reece Eftink scored and Michael Dollins cashed in a pair of layups to tie it at 44-44.

With the two clubs entering the fourth quarter tied at 46, the Blue Jays gained a 54-50 lead just under four minutes into the fourth.

If you watch Owens play you probably become enamored with his ability to score the ball but down the stretch in the fourth quarter, Owens was facilitating as well, setting his teammates up for big buckets on the way to a win.

“(His passing) might be one of his best attributes,” Williams said. “His basketball IQ is extremely high for a high school basketball player.”

The Hawks were hanging around as they trailed the Blue Jays just 54-52, but Charleston went on a 10-0 run to seal the victory.

“We were able to gain control back and erase (Kelly’s) momentum,” Williams said. “We had to get stops to win the game.”

Charleston’s offensive attack was led by Owens who had a game-high 26 points in the win.

Also eclipsing double figures for the Blue Jays was Tayshon Clark with 18 points and Owen Willis with 10 points.

The Hawks had three players score in double-digits as Ross Peters poured in 14 points and Dalton Forck and Michael Dollins scored 11 points each.

Kelly (8-1) moves to the fifth-place semifinal where the Hawks will battle Oak Ridge at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 28, at the Show Me Center.

Charleston (7-2) advances to the semifinals where the Blue Jays will take on the No. 2 seeded Jackson Indians at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 28, at the Show Me Center.

“It’s going to take us making shots,” Williams said. “We also have to make shots difficult for them and limit them to one shot per possession.”

__CHARLESTON 67, Kelly 52__

Charleston 19 16 11 21 — 67

Kelly 17 10 19 6 — 52

Charleston (67) — Ko’Terrion Owens 26, Tayshon Clark 18, Owen Willis 10, Zachyran Thomas 6, Treshaun Schandon 4, Deshaun Henderson 3. FG: 27. (3-pointers: Owens 1)

Kelly (52) — Ross Peters 14, Michael Dollins 11, Dalton Forck 11, Reece Eftink 8, Canon Kirkpatrick 6, Skyler Still 2. FG: 22. (3-pointers: Peters 4)