BLUE JAYS USE STRONG 2ND HALF, FLY PAST TIGERS 81-67

CHARLESTON -- Cape Girardeau Central High's boys basketball team put up a good fight for a half but Charleston ultimately proved too strong Tuesday night.

The host Blue Jays pulled away from a 40-34 halftime lead and coasted to an 81-67 SEMO Conference victory.

Charleston improved to 20-5 overall and 5-1 in league play while Central fell to 9-14 overall, 2-4 in the conference.

Howard Biles paced the Blue Jays with 20 points while Romie Whitney had a strong game with 16. Also in double figures were Larico Coleman (14) and Moses Rowe (10).

Central's Chris Bergerson scored a game-high 30 points. He was followed by Ross Conner with 13 and Aron Meystedt with 12.

The Blue Jays outscored the Tigers 21-11 in the third quarter to take control of the game and Charleston eventually led by as many as 18 points.

"I thought we played hard the whole game," said Central coach Brett Reutzel. "It was a very physical game and we just weren't physical enough with them the whole game."

Central's JV lost 58-42 despite 16 points by Donnie McClinton.

Central will play its final regular-season game Friday night at Ste. Genevieve.

Scott City 104, Bell City 52

BELL CITY -- After narrowly avoiding an upset at Bloomfield Friday night, Scott City made sure there would be no suspense Tuesday night.

The Rams jumped out to a 25-9 lead after one quarter and went on to destroy host Bell City as they improved to 22-2. The Cubs fell to 12-10.

Five players scored in double figures for Scott City, which hit 13 out of 18 3-point baskets. Jon Beck led the way with 23 points. He was followed by Ryan Weatherspoon (18), Blaine Bruce (12), Tim Lowery (10) and Ronald Watson (10).

Beck, a junior, went over 1,000 points for his Scott City career while Lowery had 10 assists.

Bell City got 12 points from both Matt Knoderer and Brandon Stewart.

Delta 76, Chaffee 43

CHAFFEE -- The way Chaffee started out Tuesday night's game, it appeared as if the Red Devils had visions of a major upset.

But Delta would have none of it. Despite falling behind 11-0 at the outset, the visiting Bobcats cruised to an easy victory.

Delta (16-7) was led by Garrett DeBrock with 21 points and Shawn Kinder with 15. Andy Blattel added 12 and Greg Voelker had 10.

Chaffee (2-17) got 17 points from Jamey Dumey, but no other player scored more than nine.

After the slow start, Delta recovered to lead 20-15 after one quarter. A 19-3 second-period edge broke the game open.

"Delta really turned up the pressure defensively in the second quarter. They really impressed me," said Chaffee coach Jim Stoverink.

Kelly 97, East Prairie 39

EAST PRAIRIE -- Kelly, which recently was awarded the top seed for the upcoming 2A district tournament, won its 22nd game of the season by ripping host East Prairie Tuesday night.

The Hawks (22-3) led 48-19 at halftime.

Jim Hulshof paced the Hawks with 22 points while Russ Mothershead had 14 and Jason Glastetter 10.

"I liked the way we came out and played," said Kelly coach Kent Mangels. "We had some tough games last week, but we came out and took care of business tonight."

St. Vincent 75, Oak Ridge 56

OAK RIDGE -- St. Vincent used a 22-7 scoring advantage in the second quarter to post a victory over host Oak Ridge Tuesday night.

The Indians (3-18) took just an 18-16 lead into the second quarter, but emerged with a 40-23 advantage.

Ryan Prost netted 16 points for St. Vincent. He was followed by Kyle Eggers with 15 and Chad Winkler with 12.

"We're really starting to play a lot better," said St. Vincent coach Bruce Valleroy. "Tonight we had a very good game, especially in the first half."

Matt Preusser tallied a game-high 17 points for Oak Ridge (2-17) and Eric Hobeck added 15.

St. Vincent's JV is now 20-1 after a 79-40 romp.

Oran 70, Advance 52

ADVANCE -- Billy Loper pumped in 25 points to spark Oran's road victory Tuesday night.

The Eagles (12-10) also got 13 points from Ricky Eftink, 10 from Chris Nichols and 10 from Dustin Dannenmueller.

Advance (8-15) was paced by Gary Ahern with 21 points but no other Hornet had more than seven.

Woodland 85, Puxico 52

MARBLE HILL -- Woodland raced out to a 28-16 first-quarter lead and had an easy time with visiting Puxico Tuesday night.

The Cardinals (15-8) were led by David Massa and Jason Bandermann with 19 points apiece. Greg Lincoln added 15 and Corey Yount had 11.

"We had a good performance, particularly in the second half," said Woodland coach Jennings Wilkinson, whose squad outscored Puxico 45-22 over the final two quarters.

Zalma 59, Leopold 55 (2OT)

LEOPOLD -- Leopold had the ball and a two-point lead in the closing seconds of regulation Tuesday night but the Wildcats could not hold on and visiting Zalma eventually prevailed in double overtime.

Zalma (4-16) got 20 points from Josh Smith, 15 from Ben Wallace and 12 from Tim Burchett.

Leopold (3-16) was paced by Jason VanDeVen and Donnie Landewee with 16 points apiece. Brian Holzum added 10.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

New Madrid 39, Delta 28

DELTA -- New Madrid held Delta to single digit scoring in all four quarters and prevailed in a low-scoring contest Tuesday night.

New Madrid led 11-5 after the first quarter and opened a 24-14 advantage by halftime. New Madrid then outscored Delta 15-14 in the second half.

Amanda Cook paced Delta (15-7) with 10 points. Tamika Tipler led New Madrid with 18 points.