BLUE JAYS SHARPEN FOR DISTRICTS WITH ROMP PAST TIGERS

CHARLESTON -- Charleston High's boys basketball team has had something of an up-and-down season, but the Blue Jays were strictly up Tuesday night.

Playing their final home game, the Blue Jays showed that they just might be ready for a strong district showing as they destroyed Cape Girardeau Central 78-48.

The Blue Jays, seeded fourth out of five teams for next week's rugged 3A, District 1 Tournament at Kennett, improved to 14-9 as they nabbed their third straight victory.

"We played well tonight. It was one of our better games of the year," said Charleston coach Danny Farmer. "We also played well to beat Kennett in our last game. We seem to be more focused now, and it's the best time to start playing well.

"If we're playing well, we can play with anybody around. But I never know which team is going to show up."

Central, seeded third out of five teams for next week's 4A, District 1 tourney in Sikeston, fell to 8-15.

"I thought Charleston really played well and I thought Howard Biles was pretty phenomenal," said Central coach Brett Reutzel.

Biles, Charleston's splendid senior guard, led all scorers with 23 points. He had 15 second-half points, coming on five 3-pointers in five attempts.

Sophomore Jordy Mixon, cleaning up inside, added 20 points for the Blue Jays while Terrance Gillespie contributed 12.

Ross Conner paced the Tigers with 18 points, including a pair of dunks. Michael Cox added 10 points.

Central hit three of its first four shots from the field and grabbed an early 6-4 lead. But that was about the extent of the good news for the Tigers.

Charleston, connecting on its first eight shots from the floor, used a 14-0 run to wipe out Central's early advantage and go up 18-6.

After Central broke the run with a basket, Charleston scored six more consecutive points to go ahead 24-8 as the rout was on.

The Blue Jays led 27-12 after one quarter and 41-20 at halftime, thanks in large part to 16 Central turnovers, many of them forced by Charleston's full-court pressure.

"Their pressure was pretty dominant in the first half," Reutzel said. "I expected us to handle it a little better. Our turnovers came in bunches and the first quarter was really the game."

Trailing 54-30 in the third quarter, Central managed a brief rally that cut Charleston's lead to 54-37. It was 58-40 after three periods.

Charleston then turned things into a complete blowout in the fourth quarter, leading by as many as 35 points before settling for the 30-point win.

"I was really pleased with our team defense tonight. We put pressure on them and scored off our defense," Farmer said. "I didn't expect to beat them nearly that bad. We just had a really good game."

Both squads will close out their regular seasons on the road Friday, Charleston against Poplar Bluff and Central against St. Louis University High.

"Poplar Bluff is really playing well. If we can play them good, then I'll feel really good going into district," said Farmer.