CHARLESTON TURNS UP HEAT, COOKS `DOGS AT SIKESTON

SIKESTON -- The seventh-seeded Notre Dame Bulldogs didn't play like the last seed of the 26th Annual Sikeston Invitational Tournament early in their first-round contest Monday.

But then their opponents -- the Charleston Blue Jays -- played like the No. 2 seed that they are.

The Blue Jays used a 22-0 run in the first half to fly past the Bulldogs and eventually win 82-50.

Charleston, now 3-1, advances to a 7:30 p.m. semifinal contest against the winner of No. 3 Sikeston and No. 6 Poplar Bluff tonight. Notre Dame (2-2) will play the loser of the Sikeston-Bluff game Thursday at 6 p.m.

Notre Dame started the game with a 6-0 run and with 2:03 left in the first quarter the game was tied 8-8 after two free throws by the Bulldogs' Michael Wehner.

Then Charleston turned out the lights.

Using tenacious full-court pressure, the Blue Jays scored the final nine points of the first quarter and the first 13 points of the second quarter to take a 30-8 lead with less than four minutes left in the half. The 22-point outburst was part of a 30-2 Charleston scoring run.

"The way we started was all we could have asked for," said Notre Dame coach Chris Janet. "Our game plan was to handle the tempo of the game and we did that early. Then they (Charleston) turned up their intensity."

Notre Dame's Zach Miller ended the run at the 3:30-mark with a 3-pointer and added another quick score to make it 30-13. But the Blue Jays continued to press the Bulldogs and held a 40-17 lead at halftime. Miller led the Bulldogs with 14 points. Wehner added 12.

"They (Notre Dame) came out ready to play," said first-year Charleston coach Danny Farmer. "But our pressure did a little bit to their game. We plan to play a lot of pressure defense this year."

Four players scored in double figures for Charleston led by Howard Biles with 18 points. Larico Coleman and Tyshun Johnson both added 16 points and Rommie Whitney scored 10.