JAYS UPROOT TOP-SEEDED RAMS, REACH TITLE GAME

Scott City High guard Jon Beck shone under the spotlight of the Rams' University High School Christmas Tournament semifinal game Tuesday at the Show Me Center.

But his supporting cast played little more than bit parts, shackled by Charleston's unrelenting, breakneck defense, and the top-seeded Rams dropped their first game this season, 58-49 to the No. 4 Blue Jays.

Charleston, which won six of the past nine U-High tournaments, will take on No. 2 Jackson in the title tilt tonight at 7:30. Scott City will meet No. 6 Cape Girardeau Central for third place at 6.

Beck, a 6-foot senior, knocked down a game-high 31 points, including 11 of Scott City's 12 points in the fourth quarter when the Rams' one-man surge fell short.

No other Ram scored more than four points. Ryan Weatherspoon, a 6-6 junior center who entered the game toting averages of 15 points and 14 rebounds, fouled out after tallying just four points against the sturdy defense of Charleston's 6-2 center, Larry Mitchell.

Scott City (9-1), which averaged 97 points in its first two tournament games, hit just 3 of 17 3-pointers and shot 21 of 52 (40.4 percent) from the floor.

"We really wanted to stop Beck," Charleston coach Danny Farmer said, "but Beck is a great player, and you don't stop great players. But we stopped the other guys, and that helped us.

"I thought Weatherspoon would just eat us up, but Mitchell did a super job on him."

Meanwhile, Charleston (5-5) shot 24 of 59 (40.1 percent) from the field, a solid figure for a defense-oriented club, despite missing its first eight in the final period as Scott City shrunk a 14-point third-quarter deficit to five with 1 minute 16 seconds remaining in the game.

"We were playing the best offense that we have all year," Farmer said. "And then in the fourth quarter we went back to our old selves. But our defense picked it up in the fourth quarter. I think we are a little bit quicker than they are and maybe a little more athletic."

Said Mitchell, who was strong in a 12-point, 10-rebound outing: "We stepped it up when it was time to step up. We were doubted, but we won the game. All we were looking for was good defense; get all the loose balls and all the rebounds."

Charleston didn't get all the boards, but it outrebounded the taller Rams 31-27.

Blue Jays guard Terrance Gillespie, a 5-11 junior, totaled a team-high 13 points and seven rebounds, and 5-4 point guard Phillip Turner finished with 12 points, four assists and three steals.

Scott City coach Derek McCord said the game boiled down to an abysmal long-range shooting night for his squad in contrast with a superb offensive game for Charleston.

"We couldn't hit the broad side of a barn tonight," McCord said. "That's the poorest we've shot from the 3-point line since I can remember. And that's the best I've ever seen Charleston shoot the basketball. They hit the big shots when they needed to.

"We've just got to get some more people to step up."

Charleston's Gillespie, Delon Turner and Phillip Turner each hit 3-pointers as the Blue Jays grabbed a 19-14 opening-period edge. The lead remained five points at halftime as Phillip Turner added seven points in the second quarter but Beck countered with nine.

The Blue Jays' feisty defense flustered Scott City in the third quarter as the Rams got just eight points, and Charleston opened a 46-32 lead with 2:45 left in the period.

Beck drained a 28-footer at the third-quarter horn to make the score 48-37, and Beck's effort in the fourth quarter brought Scott City within 54-49 on his steal and layup with 1:16 to go.

But transition scores from Travis Kent and Phillip Turner in the final 1:05 sent the Rams packing.