PIRATES STUN TOP-RANKED JAYS; PERRYVILLE BOYS WIN SECTIONAL 64-61

POPLAR BLUFF -- The Perryville Pirates used a huge height advantage, smart play in the backcourt, composure and then added a lot of heart and it proved to be just enough to knock off the defending 3A champion Charleston Blue Jays 64-61 in a sectional contest Wednesday night.

"I knew the key would be our composure and how well we would be able to execute with their pressure," Perryville coach Rick Francis said. "I guess it was just enough."

Charleston coach Bobby Spencer said he wasn't surprised at how well the Pirates were able to handle the vaunted pressure of his Blue Jays, ranked No. 1 in the state.

"Perryville's a smart team," Spencer said. "Their height helped them and some of it was that they were in the right place at times."

The Pirates, ranked eighth in the state, advance onto quarterfinal action Saturday night in Farmington to face Sullivan. The Pirates improved to 28-2. Charleston ended its season at 25-4.

The Pirates controlled the game for the most part, led by the play of Scott Kassel, a 6-foot-8 senior. Kassel, although mired in foul trouble most of the night, led the Pirates with a game-high 25 points. He eventually fouled out with 38 seconds left in the game.

In fact, Kassel picked up his fourth foul at the 5:37 mark of the fourth quarter and the Pirates leading 48-44. Francis thought about taking his leading scorer out of the game, but in a big game like this one, couldn't pull the trigger.

"I knew the situation exactly," Francis said, pointing out the Pirates held a slim four-point lead. "I thought about (taking him out) but this is the time of year you leave your seniors in the game and go for it."

Kassel made his coach look like a genius, scoring the next two Pirate baskets after Charleston took the lead to put Perryville ahead 52-51 with 3:57 left.

Charleston took its final lead on a basket by Rashad Oliver with 2:54 to go that made the score 53-52. Oliver finished with a team-leading 24 points. But then the Pirates went on a final run to pull away.

With Perryville up 54-53, Perryville's Paul Weinkein broke the game open with a steal and then took the ball strong to the hoop for the basket and foul. Weinkein, who was 9 of 9 from the free-throw-line, added the free toss to put the Pirates in control 57-53 with 2:23 left. He finished with 12 points.

Big brother Bruce Weinkein then took care of the Pirates' points, scoring six of the final seven Perryville points to seal the win. The 6-11 senior basically put the game away with 1:26 left when the Pirates broke the Blue Jays' pressure defense. Weinkein was left alone under the hoop and performed a powerful two-handed dunk that put Perryville ahead 61-55. The slam was Weinkein's fourth dunk of the evening as he finished with 14 points.

"We wanted to beat the press because Charleston has a good press," Bruce Weinkein said, noting he was looking to dunk the ball every chance he could. "We used our height and were able to do that."

In the first half Perryville controlled play for the most part. Both teams traded the lead back and forth until the Pirates broke loose for three consecutive baskets to take a 12-7 lead with two minutes remaining in the quarter.

The big play of the 6-0 run was a powerful two-handed dunk off a lob pass by Bruce Weinkein to put the Pirates up 10-7.

Perryville had a chance to extend its lead late in the quarter when Josh Moll stole a pass from Charleston as the Blue Jays were setting up a final shot. Moll was all alone for an easy layup but the ball skidded off the iron to keep the score 12-9 heading to the second quarter.

The missed opportunity to end the first quarter hardly slowed the Pirates down to start the second quarter. Kassel scored the Pirates' first three buckets of the quarter to put the Pirates up 22-12 with 6:17 left. Kassel then left the game after picking up his third foul and the Blue Jays took advantage.

With the Pirates ahead 25-12, Charleston went on an 8-0 run to pull to within 25-20. But the Pirates regained their composure to take a 30-22 lead at halftime.

The Blue Jays appeared ready to take control of the game in the third quarter. Charleston freshman Howard Biles drilled three straight shots, including two 3-pointers to knot the score 37-37 with 3:07 left in the third. But Perryville never allowed Charleston to take control, prompting Spencer to comment on the Pirates chances for success the rest of the way.

"I think Perryville can lock it up and take it all," said Spencer. "They have a good high-low game."