CHARLESTON CLAIMS U-HIGH; BLUE JAYS BEAT JACKSON 61-56

Chalk another one up for Charleston.

The Blue Jays completed -- and continued -- their annual quest of the University High Christmas Tournament championship Wednesday night by claiming their 13th title with a 61-56 win over Jackson in front a large crowd at the Show-Me Center.

A few things remain constant for Charleston year after year. The Blue Jays are always quick and they always play unmerciful, albeit occasionally chaotic, defense.

The only thing different this year was that the Blue Jays were seeded fourth.

But Charleston stumped the top two seeds on consecutive nights to claim its second straight championship and its sixth first-place trophy in the past eight years.

That said, maybe Wednesday night's result wasn't an upset at all.

"It feels great," Charleston head coach Danny Farmer said. "I didn't think we were the No. 4 seed. I thought we were the No. 1 seed and I seeded us that way. It's a morale booster for us."

Jackson (8-2) nearly dethroned the Blue Jays (6-5), but Charleston's ceaseless defensive pressure wore down the Indians.

"I thought their quickness was the decisive thing," Jackson coach Steve Burk said. "We had to play very well to win. I thought we played good, but not as well as we needed to."

The Indians led 53-49 with 5:19 remaining in the game, but Charleston's Larry Mitchell quickly put four points on the board to tie the game at 53.

Terrence Gillespie scored a game-high 19 points for Charleston. Phillip Turner, a fiesty 5-foot-4 point guard, and Mitchell posted 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Jackson pulled even at 56 with 2:14 left when Doug Cary scored on a conventional 3-point play.

Charleston scored the final five points, and went ahead to stay on a free throw by Mitchell.

The Indians had plenty of opportunities, though.

Cary missed a wide open 3-pointer with about 1:20 left. Cory Daniel tried to save a muffed rebound, but threw the ball across the court and out of bounds. Later he missed an open 15-foot jumper.

After a pair of missed free throws by Gillespie left the Blue Jays' lead at 59-56 with 13 seconds left, Jackson guard Justin Suedmeyer had his cross-court pass to Cary intercepted by Charleston's Travis Kent.

Kent was immediately fouled. He made his first free throw and the game was essentially over.

"We missed a lot of opportunities," Burk said. "We had opportunities right up to the end. We just didn't cash in. I think we got a little tired. They upped the intensity a little bit.

"There were two things that I thought were key. They got in the one-and-one before we did. And we also didn't block out."

The Indians executed their halfcourt offense to near perfection in the first quarter. Jackson took an 18-6 lead into the second quarter, thanks largely to Daniel, who established himself as an inside threat early. He scored eight of his 12 points in the first quarter.

Suedmeyer and Cary each scored 15 points to lead Jackson.

The championship game featured four of the 10 members of the all-tournament team. Suedmeyer, Cary, Turner and Charleston's Jeffry Ewing each made the team. Others given all-tournament honors were Cape Central's Ross Conner, Kelly Illers and Donnie McClinton; Scott City's Jon Beck, Advance's Garrett Broshius, and Scott County Central's John Fort.

U-High Tournament

Wednesday's results

Championship

Charleston 61, Jackson 56

Third place

Cape Central 60, Scott City 57

Fifth place

Oran 60, Notre Dame 56

Consolation

Scott Co. Central 81, Advance 77