CHARLESTON EASES PAST JACKSON 41-36

CHARLESTON -- Jackson Indians' coach Steve Burk and Charleston coach Danny Farmer hooked-up in a game of chicken Tuesday night in their SEMO Conference basketball matchup.

Neither blinked, but Charleston sophomore Howard Biles did, making a big 3-pointer in the fourth quarter that pushed the Blue Jays to 41-36 win.

The loss, coupled with New Madrid's win at Poplar Bluff Tuesday, dropped the Indians from atop the league standings. It also snapped an 11-game win streak for the Indians as they fell to 16-4 overall and 3-1 in the conference. Charleston improved to 16-5 and 3-1, with its only conference loss to New Madrid.

With the Blue Jays leading 35-34 following a 3-pointer by Jackson's Levi Bollinger, Charleston held the ball and started to stall with nearly five-and-a-half minutes left.

A minute went by, but Burk didn't have his team pressure the ball.

Another minute passed with Charleston senior Larico Coleman holding the ball.

With about three minutes left, Jackson started to pressure the Blue Jays' backcourt. The Indians nearly forced a steal, but with 2:37 left Biles stepped up and drilled a huge 3-pointer from the wing to stretch Charleston's lead to 38-34.

"We were content to let them hold the ball," said Burk. "But it ended up working great for them. Nobody picked up Biles and he busted a three.

"It worked out as the biggest play of the game."

But it wasn't quite the shot the Blue Jays were looking for. Farmer said the Blue Jays would have "held it to the end" if they had to, but the 5-10 Biles came up big.

"We really wanted a layup," said a smiling Farmer, "but Biles can hit it when he's open."

Charleston missed the front end of two one-and-one free throw situations, allowing the Indians a chance to get back in the game. Jeff Walter scored on a putback with 20 seconds left to close the score to 38-36. Walter ended with a team-high 14 points.

But Charleston closed out the game with 14 seconds left on a free throw by Coleman and putback by Clintrus Clark after Coleman missed his second free throw.

"We didn't execute down the stretch," Burk said. "Charleston played better the second half and hit some big shots."

Jackson led for most of the game, leading 26-21 at halftime on the strength of 12 of 13 free-throw shooting. The Indians didn't go to the line again and shot just 13 times from the field in the second half.

"We played smarter in the second half," said Farmer. "Anytime you play Jackson you have to play smart. They're an aggressive team and very well coached."

After playing man-to-man defense in the first half, the Blue Jays used full-court pressure in the second half to force six turnovers in the third quarter and tie the score 31-31.

"We wanted to speed up the game earlier, but when you use pressure it can work both ways," Farmer said. "You can kill yourself or you can kill them. (Early in the game) I was a little hesitant."

Coleman scored all 10 of Charleston's points in the third quarter on the way to a team-high 14. Jackson made just two baskets in the quarter, scoring five points.

A 4-0 run to start the fourth quarter put Charleston ahead for good and Farmer made sure the Blue Jays stayed ahead with their slow-down offense.