JAYS WIN 12TH U-HIGH TITLE; CHARLESTON HANDS KELLY 1ST LOSS 70-55

When high school basketball fans think of the Charleston Blue Jays basketball team, the terms "zone defense" and "half-court offense" don't usually come to mind.

But that's what the normally high-powered Blue Jays used to win their 12th University High School Christmas Tournament title Tuesday night at the Show Me Center. With the halftime score tied 33-33, top-seeded Charleston pulled away in the second half from No. 2 Kelly to claim the tourney title 70-55.

The win earned Charleston its second tournament title of the season -- the Blue Jays won the Sikeston Tournament earlier this month -- and pushed its record to 10-1. The loss was Kelly's first of the season and dropped its mark to 10-1.

After struggling with foul problems in two previous tournament games because of their overly aggressive play on defense, the Blue Jays came out an entirely different team in the championship game.

"We had to change our style of play," said first-year Charleston coach Danny Farmer. "We went to a zone in the second half and that took away some of our aggressiveness."

The defensive maneuver appeared to play into Kelly's hands with sweet-shooting perimeter players Jim Hulshof and Denver Stuckey in the Hawks' backcourt. But the Blue Jays opened the third quarter with a 10-2 run and Kelly was unable to respond from the outside.

"(The zone defense) was a good move on Danny's part, but I really thought it was going to backfire because I think we have a good offense for the zone," said Kelly coach Kent Mangels. "With Jimmy (Hulshof) and Denver (Stuckey) out there shooting (the ball), we feel that's a big strength for us. But tonight the shots didn't fall for us."

Charleston didn't have those problems. Larico Coleman led the Blue Jays with 26 points with teammates Howard Biles, Romie Whitney and Tyshun Williams all scoring 10.

Kelly, making its first finals appearance since a 1981 loss to Cape Central, got 14 points from Hulshof and Jason Glastetter. Nathan Dirnberger, not normally known for his scoring, provided 10 points on the inside for the Hawks.

"Most of Kelly's points were coming from the inside and the zone took that away and forced them to shoot from the outside," said Farmer.

With the score tied at halftime, Charleston started the third quarter with a 10-2 run to take its biggest lead at that point. A basket by Kelly's Nathan Dirnberger cut the Charleston lead to 43-37 with 2:33 left in the quarter, but then the Blue Jays slowed things down and killed the remaining time in the quarter with their half-court offense.

With Larico Coleman and Howard Biles holding the ball near halfcourt, Kelly allowed the Blue Jays to run down clock.

With the crowd urging the Blue Jays to move the ball, Biles ended the quarter by taking the ball to the basket and drilling an 18-foot jumper to give Charleston a 45-37 lead going to the fourth quarter.

Charleston pushed that lead over 10 points in the fourth quarter, forcing Kelly into a full-court game with the athletic Blue Jays. Kelly never got within eight points in the final quarter.

After winning two close contests to make it the finals, the Blue Jays weren't looking for another thriller.

"I think we learned our lesson after those two close encounters," Farmer said. "It helped the kids to see more clearly and they came out ready to play tonight."

Charleston may have been feeling the pressure of being the overwhelming favorite to win the tourney. Farmer was just happy to have the tournament over.

"There was pressure on me so, I'm sure the players felt the pressure on them," Farmer said. "With all that pressure we wanted to come through and win.

"I'm just glad it's over."

Coleman provided most of the offense for the Blue Jays in the first quarter. The Blue Jays' lightning-quick guard pumped in 14 of Charleston's 18 first-quarter points -- including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the period -- as the Blue Jays held an 18-14 lead.

Kelly was able to limit Coleman to just two points in the second quarter as the Hawks pulled even at halftime.

Dirnberger, not one of the Hawks' normal scoring threats, scored six successive points for Kelly to knot the score 31-31 with 55-seconds left in the half.

Williams scored a basket to put the Blue Jays back ahead, but Glastetter scored just before the end of the half to make the score 33-33 at halftime.

U-High Tournament

Tuesday's results

Consolation final

Oran 54, Bell City 52

Fifth place

Jackson 65, Delta 55

Third place

Scott City 63, Cape Central 48

Championship

Charleston 70, Kelly 55

All Tournament

Shawn Kinder, Delta

Jeff Walter, Jackson

Tim Lowery, Scott City

Jason Glastetter, Kelly

Garrett DeBrock, Delta

Denver Stuckey, Kelly

Howard Biles, Charleston

Jon Beck, Scott City

Jim Hulshof, Kelly

Larico Coleman, Charleston