Charleston takes out semifinal setback on Rams

Top-seeded Charleston took out its frustrations on third-seeded Scott City Tuesday night at the Show Me Center after being upended by Jackson the night before. Charleston rolled past Scott City 77-69 to capture the third-place trophy in the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

"We had to get our paybacks," senior Joshua Strayhorn said. "We were embarrassed by last night and we had to get our paybacks."

No. 4 Jackson upset the Blue Jays 46-44 in Monday night's semifinal game, but Charleston coach Danny Farmer said his team learned its lesson.

"We came out and played a lot better," Farmer said. "We realized we have to stay more focused and be mentally ready for every game."

The final score wasn't indicative of Charleston's dominance throughout the game. The Blue Jays jumped out to a 9-0 lead and pushed their advantage to 23-10 by the end of the first quarter with tough pressure defense.

The Blue Jays (9-1) forced 12 Scott City turnovers in the first half and led 41-27 at halftime.

"It's hard to simulate Charleston's pressure in practice," Scott City coach Lance Amick said.

Farmer said his team takes pride in playing defense and it was the difference-maker.

"We put a lot of emphasis on the defensive end rather than the offensive end," Farmer said.

Both teams scored 18 points in the third quarter, but Charleston led Scott City (7-2) in the rebounding category.

"Rebounding plagued us throughout the game," Amick said.

The Rams made a 10-1 run in the final minutes of the game to cut into Charleston's lead.

Marcus Biles led the Blue Jays with 21 points. Ashton Farmer had 18 points, Stayhorn had 17 and Trentez Lane added 13. Farmer and Strayhorn scored five points combined in Monday night's loss.

The Rams were led by Mark Dannenmueller with 25 points. Tyler Ward added 19 points and had seven blocks.

The Rams have lost two straight to quality opponents after winning their first seven.

"The biggest problem we're fighting is the belief that we're not as good a team as them," Amick said. "We don't believe we should be out there, and we do belong."

Charleston finishes third after winning the tournament the past two years.

Scott City 10 17 18 24 -- 69

Charleston 23 18 18 18 -- 77

Charleston (77) -- Marcus Biles 21, Ashton Farmer 18, Joshua Strayhorn 17, Trentez Lane 13, Jamarcus Williams 8. FG 30, FT 8-13, F 13 (3-pointers: Lane 1, Farmer 1, Strayhorn 1. Fouled out: none)

Scott City (69) -- Mark Dannenmueller 25, Tyler Ward 19, Andy Beck 9, Mark Johnston 8, Jeremy Schlosser 8. FG 21, FT 9-14, F 13 (3-pointers: Dannenmueller 4, Johnston 1. Fouled out: none)