Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament: Charleston outlasts Woodland for 5th place

Tuesday night's fifth-place contest of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament was an important gauge for both the fifth-seeded Charleston Bluejays and the sixth-seeded Woodland Cardinals, who will compete in the same district later in the season.

Charleston claimed fifth place with an 89-80 win behind a 40-point performance from senior guard Delfincko Bogan, which Charleston coach Danny Farmer noted, "probably ensured us the first seed in district."

"It's not guaranteed us a district victory. We know that now," Farmer said. "We're going to have to be hitting on all cylinders when it comes district time."

The Cardinals pulled within six points in the fourth quarter after trailing by as many as 16 in the second half, but were unable to overcome an early deficit.

"They're a good team. That's what I just finished telling the team," Farmer said. "They're a very good, competitive team, and they have a whole [season] to get better, so we're going to have to be on the ball."

Charleston knocked down four 3-pointers in the first three and a half minutes of the game -- three from junior guard Dontarius Sharp -- to take a 12-5 lead. The Bluejays led by as many as 11 in the first quarter and held a 26-17 advantage heading into the second.

The Cardinals outscored Charleston 12-11 in the second to pull within 37-29 with 22 seconds left in the half, but a pair of free throws and a banked in 3 at the buzzer by Sharp off a steal put the Bluejays up 42-29 at the break.

"They're a good enough team that every possession matters, and we're learning that," Woodland coach Logan Nutt said. "We'll learn that over time. Every possession matters, and you've got to be down on defense and that every possession is just urgent."

A 3-pointer by Demarcus Sharp pushed Charleston's lead to 16 just 10 seconds into the second half.

Woodland's Garret Reynolds sails in for two-points in the third quarter against Charleston, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014, during the fifth place game of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament at the Show Me Center. Charleston won 89-80. (Laura Simon)

Woodland cut it to 10 heading into the fourth quarter after a three-point play by Zach Beel and a pair of free throws by Garret Reynolds in the final 1:22.

The Cardinals cut it to 65-59 with 6:28 remaining, but never got any closer.

Bogan, who scored 28 of his 40 points in the second half, knocked down 20 of 21 free throws, including 13 in the final six minutes of action.

"At the beginning of the game it was kind of cold in the gym. I wasn't feeling it," Bogan said. "But coach kept telling me to drive to the rim because they were calling [fouls]."

Charleston shot 26 of 30 from the charity stripe while the Cardinals were 24 of 30.

"We shot free throws well, and we did the small things to just win the game," Farmer said. "We didn't want to shoot ourselves out of the game, so we kind of slowed it down and ensured the victory."

Beel led Woodland with 33 points while Reynolds finished with 27.

"We forced some passes inside, but for the most part we got the ball inside, got Zach the ball and he finished around the basket well, which is key," Reynolds said. "We haven't been doing that that well, and tonight we really did it well. That's an aspect of our game that we have to utilize."

Woodland head coach Logan Nutt gives a thumbs-up to his team in the third quarter against Charleston, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014, during the fifth place game of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament at the Show Me Center. Charleston won 89-80. (Laura Simon)

Nutt thought his players "grew up" during Woodland's four games in the tournament.

"We had to play tough teams," Nutt said. "And we were able to play four games in a row. We fought fatigue, we fought physicality with teams like Notre Dame and Charleston, and we got a lot of experience."

The Cardinals are hopeful that experience will help them in the postseason.

"I think we gained an aspect that we really truly believe we can beat this team," Reynolds said. "I mean, they're Charleston. They have the history, and we're up-and-coming, but I think as a team we had the belief that we could beat them, but now we truly understand that we can beat them."

Woodland 17 12 23 28 -- 80

Charleston 26 16 20 27 -- 89

WOODLAND (80) -- Evan Grindstaff 3, Jake Long 2, Garret Reynolds 27, Tyler Womack 4, Zach Beel 33, Devon Gramlisch 2, Michael McCormick 9. FG 26, FT 24-30, F 22. (3-pointers: Grindstaff, Reynolds, Beel, McCormick. Fouled out: Landon Johnson.)

CHARLESTON (89) -- Jaqueles Biles 2, Dontarius Sharp 12, Delfincko Bogan 40, Demarcus Sharp 10, Tennerius Ewing 13, Tyler Craig 12. FG 27, FT 26-30, F 22. (3-pointers: Don. Sharp 4, Bogan 2, Dem. Sharp 2, Ewing. Fouled out: Dem. Sharp.)