Charleston hoops primed for another state title run

The defending Class 3 state champions appear primed to win a second consecutive title.

The Charleston Blue Jays are on an 11-game winning streak after blowing out the Jackson Indians 64-41 on Monday in Jackson.

In fact, the last time the Blue Jays lost, it was against the Indians in the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament. Jackson also defeated Charleston in the SEMO Conference Tournament back in December.

So it turns out that the third time’s a charm for Charleston.

“The first time we played them, we played our worst game and they played phenomenal,” Charleston head coach Jamarcus Williams said. “The second time in the Christmas tournament, we played them to two points and that was without our leading scorer, and just to see the progress that we've made over the season, it's a great feeling approaching playoff time.”

PJ Farmer, who missed the Christmas tournament due to an injury, scored 24 points for the Blue Jays on Monday. He also scored 16 points in Charleston’s 79-71 win against Hazelwood Central this past Saturday.

“His return is huge,” Williams said. “It's a major, major dynamic change because our entire starting five is averaging double figures. So whenever you have five guys that can score, it makes it easier for everybody to score, if that makes sense. They can't just focus on defending one player. All five guys have to defend.”

The Blue Jays began the season 4-4 and Williams said everything changed for his team after losing to New Madrid County Central on Dec. 9 in the SEMO Conference Tournament.

“We had a lot of time to practice a lot of time and look in the mirror,” Williams said. “We weren’t as focused.”

Since that loss, the Blue Jays have won 14 of their last 15 games. Williams sees similarities between this team and the team that won it all a year ago.

“We are playing hard and when everything isn't going in our favor, we're finding ways to win games,” Williams said. “That's what I liked about our team last year and that's what I'm loving about our team this year.”

Charleston plays Portageville on homecoming Friday at 7:30 p.m. Then the Blue Jays will face their biggest test of the year when they travel to Cape Central to take on the Tigers on Valentine's Day.

“We haven't played them but Cape is good,” Williams said. “They are good, and they are deep. We’re excited about the challenge.”

The Tigers’ only loss came against a nationally ranked-school out of Chicago. They are known for turning defensive stops into dunks.

“We just have to protect the ball,” Williams said. “We have to get the shots that we want to get. We have to take care of the ball. We have to play great transition difference. Jackson was another team, at least when they played us the first time. They'd like to push the ball up the court and they'd like to take it out and run the sidelines up to get easy transition buckets. I thought we did a great job stopping it [on Monday]. We have to get the same thing [Feb. 14] against Cape.”

If Charleston can hold its own against one of the best teams in Missouri, maybe even win, then there is nobody in Class 3 that can stop the Blue Jays.