U-HIGH TOURNAMENT SEMIFINAL PARINGS SET; CHARLESTON TOO MUCH FOR DETERMINED WOODLAND

Charleston rolled into the semifinals of the Bank of Missouri University High School Christmas Tournament -- but not before holding off a spirited challenge from heavy underdog Woodland.

The top-seeded Blue Jays, seeking their third straight tourney championship, never could quite deliver the big knockout blow but they were still too much for ninth-seeded Cardinals as they prevailed 66-49 in Tuesday's quarterfinals at the Show Me Center.

Charleston, which improved to 7-3, will take on No. 5 Advance at 6 tonight in the semifinals. Advance beat Notre Dame Tuesday.

Woodland, which fell to 5-4, will play Notre Dame at 3 p.m. today in the fifth-place semifinals.

"We just had too much speed for them," said Charleston coach Danny Farmer. "But I thought Woodland played extremely well, better than I thought they could. They wouldn't quit."

Standout guard Howard Biles poured in 26 points to pace the Blue Jays offensively. Jordy Mixon added 16 points and Terrance Gillespie contributed 15.

Jason Greer bombed home five 3-point shots and led the Cardinals with 21 points, 16 coming in the first half. Ryan Bandermann hit three 3-pointers and added 11 points.

"They (Charleston) are an excellent ballclub," said Woodland coach Jennings Wilkinson. "Our effort was there physically, just not mentally. We played hard enough to win, just not smart enough."

The Cardinals scored the game's first basket but then the Blue Jays reeled off 18 straight points to take control early. Woodland was able to close the gap the rest of the opening quarter and trailed 21-9 by the end of the period.

Woodland continued to battle and hang tough in the second quarter, pulling to within 33-25 before Biles' 3-pointer just before the buzzer gave Charleston a 36-25 halftime lead.

Charleston looked like it would again break things wide open in the third quarter as the Blue Jays built a 49-29 lead. But again the Cardinals rallied as they pulled to within 51-38 entering the final period.

"We had them down 20 points and they came back," said Farmer. "I was proud that we kept our composure during that run. Earlier in the season, we didn't do that in some games."