Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament: Charleston races past Scott City and into fifth-place game

Scott City coach Mark Dannenmueller and the Rams got an up close look at just how fast and dominant Charleston can be on Monday night.

The fifth-seeded Bluejays jumped out to an early 10-point lead in the first quarter and never looked back in a 95-66 win over No. 8 Scott City in a fifth-place semifinal of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament at the Show Me Center.

"They just competed harder than we did. We were a step slower in everything," Dannenmueller said. "We left their shooters wide open and let them hit a couple shots. Give them credit, they made them, but they were wide-open, and I just didn't think we competed hard enough. You can't get in a hole against a team like that because they'll put you away quick. I don't know, we just didn't come out ready, I guess."

Charleston opened the game with a 16-6 run and led 23-14 at the end of the first.

Charleston coach Danny Farmer said a fast start and scoring points off of defensive stops were keys for the Bluejays.

"We wanted to play defense and turn our defense into offense and make them turn the ball over," Farmer said. "I thought they did a pretty good job against our pressure, and I realized they were going to take it to us, so we made a few adjustments to keep them away from the bucket and keep it a fast-paced game. We feel the speed is going to win the game for us in the end. They can't play against us for 32 minutes."

Charleston outscored Scott City 29-21 in the second quarter and took a 52-35 lead into halftime. The Bluejays were led by Delfincko Bogan, who scored a game-high 32 points and continued his three-game streak of scoring more than 30 points per game.

Bogan had 15 points and nine assists in the first half and said the Rams' heavy pressure allowed him to pass the ball to his teammates who had open looks.

"When we're up by that much I try to get my whole team involved," Bogan said. "When other teams try to put all the pressure on me I help them get open shots and make it easier on the team. I think tomorrow needs to be the best game of the tournament for me and our team."

Charleston's Demarcus Sharp added 18 points.

Charleston's Delfincko Bogan takes a shot against Scott during the third quarter of a fifth-place semifinal in the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament Monday, Dec. 29, 2014 at the Show Me Center. (Fred Lynch)

Bogan said the freshman is a much more mature player than his size or age may depict.

"He's not a regular freshman," Bogan said. "If you think he's just going to come out and kick it around, you're wrong. He's not that type of freshman that you just run over. There are good things coming for him in the future."

Charleston will play for fifth-place today at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Braden Cox led Scott City with 20 points and Trent Pobst netted 15.

Dannenmueller said his team has a long way to go before the postseason, but was happy his team got a taste of what it could be facing later in the season against Charleston, a district foe.

"We've definitely got to work on a lot of things to be able to compete with them consistently, but it does give you that experience," Dannenmueller said. "We just played Jackson and now Charleston and you're not going to get two better teams back-to-back in this area. Hopefully it shows us what we have to do in order to improve."

Scott City 14 21 19 12 -- 66

Charleston 23 29 22 21 -- 95

SCOTT CITY (66) -- Braden Cox 20, Trent Pobst 15, Dylan Keller 9, Isiah Berry 7, Brock Uelsman 7, David Smith 4, Ty Wilthong 2. FG 22, FT 20-38, F15. (3-pointers: Keller 1, Pobst 1. Fouled out: Pobst)

CHARLESTON (95) -- Delfincko Bogan 32, Demarcus Sharp 18, Mardareyon Clark 10, Jeremy Tucker 10, Dontarius Sharp 8, Tenerrious Ewing 7, Tyler Craig 6, Darron Howard 4. FG 37, FT 14-17, F 26. (3-pointers: Don. Sharp 2, Bogan 2, Dem. Sharp 2. Fouled out: none)