Charleston heads into Christmas break with 74-44 win over Notre Dame boys basketball team

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Charleston coach Danny Farmer was hoping for a good performance in his team's last game heading into Christmas break.

He got it.

The Bluejays controlled tempo, harassed ball handlers and completely dominated the Notre Dame Bulldogs on Tuesday night in a 74-44 SEMO Conference victory.

Charleston, ranked third in Class 3 in the latest MBCA/MoSports.com coaches poll, forced 20 first-half turnovers and erupted for a 52-13 halftime lead over Notre Dame.

"This is a great win," Farmer said. "I was looking for a great win going into Christmas. It takes a lot of pressure off the expectations from your players. You expect things out of your players, and then when they don't deliver, it's disappointing. But tonight we had some guys step up."

The Bluejays (7-1) needed players to step up in the absence of all-state point guard Ryan Parham, who sat out the game after injuring his ankle in practice Monday.

For the first half, Parham's absence was not noticeable as Charleston opened up a 29-8 first quarter lead and continued the onslaught in the second quarter.

"We played a great first half," Farmer said. "I was a little worried going into the game playing without Ryan for the first time in about three or four years. I didn't know what to expect, believe me."

But the Bluejays didn't miss a beat as its swarming man-to-man defensive pressure was too much for the sophomore-laden Bulldog squad to handle. Notre Dame coach Kevin Roberts had to burn four timeouts in the first half, including three in the first quarter.

Roberts declined to comment after the game, but his frustration on the bench was apparent as the Bulldogs simply couldn't take care of the basketball, most of which led to fast-break layups for the Bluejays.

"We felt that our pressure could give them problems," Farmer said. "Last time we beat them with our pressure. If we could get them to move fast and turn the ball over, we felt we could beat them."

Despite being down 39 points at the half, Notre Dame (2-5) showed signs of life in the third quarter, out-scoring the Bluejays 22-7 to trim the deficit to 59-35.

The Bluejays were able to close out the game strong, however, with a 15-9 edge in the fourth quarter.

Six-foot-three senior Darrion Carter led all scorers with 18 points. Senior Michael Hull added 16 points. Sophomore guard Delfinko Bogan followed up with 14 points, six steals and four assists.

Charleston forced 28 turnovers and had 23 steals as a team.

The Bluejays controlled the boards, finishing with 32 rebounds compared to Notre Dame's 20.

Notre Dame was led by Jordan Barber's 11 points.

Notre Dame 8 5 22 9 -- 44

Charleston 29 23 7 15 -- 74

NOTRE DAME (44) -- Jordan Barber 11, Trenton Schumer 6, Grant Ressel 5, Luke Mocherman 5, Patrick Williamson 4, Cody DeBrock 3, Jordan Williamson 3, Thomas Himmelberg 3, Dalton Welch 2, Quinn Poythress 2. FG 12, FT 8-13, F 14. (3-pointers: Ressel 1, Himmelberg 1, DeBrock 1, Mocherman 1. Fouled out: none).

CHARLESTON (74) -- Darrion Carter 18, Michael Hull 16, Delfinko Bogan 14, Sumner Foster 12, Robert Bogan 7, Trey Watkins 3, Will Davis 2, Shandor Webster 2. FG 28, FT 6-16, F 14. (3-pointers: D. Bogan 2, R. Bogan 1, Foster 1. Fouled out: none).

JV -- Notre Dame 64, Charleston 36