Top-seeded Charleston shows it means business against Oran

~ The Eagles were unable to come up with a second straight win against a larger school.

According to Charleston coach Danny Farmer, the Bluejays are playing with a renewed amount of focus and intensity this week.

It showed Wednesday against Oran in the quarterfinals of the 62nd annual Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament at the Show Me Center.

The top-seeded Bluejays took away early any upset thoughts the ninth-seeded Eagles might have had on their way to a 72-37 romp.

"We came to play," Farmer said.

Charleston has won the most titles in the history of the tournament -- 15 -- as the Bluejays seem to be the No. 1 seed just about every year.

But lately the Bluejays have faltered at some point during the early rounds of the tournament. Their last championship came in 2002 and they have not even reached the finals the past three years.

Farmer said the Bluejays have emphasized that this time around they want to regain their tournament supremacy.

"We're extra focused. We come here and we have a letdown every year, but we didn't want that to happen this year," Farmer said. "We've struggled here the last two or three years and we wanted to send a message out."

Oran received the message loud and clear.

Charleston, which improved to 10-1 and is the state's top-ranked Class 3 team, got a 3-point basket from Justin Clark just seven seconds into the game.

After that, it was pretty much just a matter of what the final score would be.

The Bluejays led 22-10 after one quarter, 36-15 at halftime and 62-29 after three quarters. The entire final period was played with the running clock that is used for a lead of 30 points or more.

Charleston smothered the Eagles (7-3) with its trademark pressure defense and scored numerous run-out baskets.

"We play great defense," said Farmer, whose squad was the Class 3 state runner-up last year. "Oran is not a bad team. They're a really good team.

"They were game, but we just took them out of their game. We didn't want to give them any confidence."

Class 1 Oran opened the tournament with a mild upset of eighth-seeded Cape Girardeau Central, 77-71 in overtime over the Class 5 Tigers.

But there would be no repeat against another bigger school as the Eagles saw their four-game winning streak end.

"We didn't have any answer for their defensive pressure," Oran first-year coach Denver Stuckey said. "The first 5 minutes of the game, you could tell our kids were overwhelmed by it."

Senior forward Jamarcus Williams led Charleston with 21 points. Clark, a senior guard, scored 19 points, while junior forward Brian Parham added 10.

"This is a special group. They play hard all the time," Farmer said.

The 6-foot-5 Williams and 6-4 Clark are both being recruited by Division I colleges for football and basketball. Williams continues to round into form as he recently returned to action following a broken leg suffered in football.

"He's getting better," Farmer said. "He practiced well this week."

Senior forward Chase Seyer scored 11 points to pace Oran.

Charleston -- which destroyed bottom seed Oak Ridge 69-12 in the first round -- will try to keep rolling in Friday's 6 p.m. semifinal against fifth-seeded Bell City.

Farmer expect things to get much tougher now.

"They're a really good team and we know we'll have to come ready to play," he said.

Meanwhile, Stuckey hopes the Eagles can bounce back in Friday's fifth-place semifinals against Scott County Central.

"We just have to come out and play hard," he said.

Charleston 72, Oran 37

Oran 10 5 14 8 -- 37

Charleston 22 14 26 10 -- 72

ORAN (37) -- Kody Campbell 5, Robert Lange 3, Skyler Trankler 2, Chase Seyer 11, Hunter Glasstetter 7, Devan Moore 1, Cody Romas 5, Chris Asmus 1, Jake Kluesner 2. FG 14, FT 8-16, F 19 (3-pointers: Romas 1. Fouled out: none)

CHARLESTON (72) -- Garyion Johnson 3, Marquez Ware 2, Jerquawn Sherrell 6, Jamarcus Williams 21, Jerrell Quinn 2, Justin Clark 19, Markale Kent 4, Donald Dixon 1, Brian Parham 10, Brandon Gillespie 4. FG 26 FT 16-27, F 18 (3-pointers: Williams 1, Clark 3. Fouled out: none.)