CHARLESTON BOYS UPSET DEXTER WITH SHOT IN CLOSING SECONDS

KENNETT -- Senior Terrance Gillespie recovered a missed shot in a wild rebounding melee and deposited the game-winning basket with 1.7 seconds left as fourth-seeded Charleston stunned top-seeded Dexter 75-74 Wednesday night in the Class 3A, District 1 boys semifinals.

The win catapulted Charleston (16-10) into Friday night's finals against second-seeded New Madrid. The Eagles defeated Doniphan 73-53 in Wednesday's other semifinal.

Gillespie's basket ended a stellar season for Dexter, which occupied the No. 1 ranking in 3A most of the season. The Bearcats, unbeaten until last week, ended the season with a 24-2 mark.

Charleston, which trailed by six points with five minutes to play, was down 74-73 when it gained possession with 35 seconds left in the game. The Blue Jays ran the clock down to seven seconds, when Turner unleashed a shot. Gillespie, who finished with a game-high 27 points, then came up with the rebound and the game-winner.

Charleston led 17-12 after one quarter and upped its lead to 36-25 by halftime. Dexter then surpassed its first-half scoring output in the third quarter, netting 31 points. The Bearcats moved into the lead with 3:50 left in the third quarter and led 56-54 entering the fourth quarter.

Delon Turner and Lezcano Dean each finished with 11 points apiece for Charleston and Jordy Mixon finished with 10.

Brett Hale paced four Bearcats in double figures with 23 points. Scott Mattingly added 19 points, Shannon Wright had 18 and Shawn Guethle had 11.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Class 3A, District 2

PARK HILLS -- Top-seeded host Park Hills scored the game's first points and never trailed in a 71-65 victory over fourth-seeded Perryville in a semifinal victory in the Class 3A, District 2 Tournament.

The duo of Adrian Nations and Leslie Burgess did the bulk of the damage for Park Hills as the pair combined for 42 points. Nations finished with 22 points and Burgess was right behind with 20. Only five Park Hills players found the scoring ledger, but four finished in double figures.

Park Hills will face the Fredericktown-North County winner in Friday's finals.

Senior Amanda Schumer sank four second-half 3-pointers to finish with 16 points for Perryville. Jamie Amberger added 15 points and Amanda Nuyt finished with 12.

"It was a crowd pleasing effort on both teams' parts," said Perryville coach Vicki Lohmann. "I didn't necessarily like to watch it. It was a good effort on both sides of the ball but in end it just wasn't enough. I was a little displeased with some of our turnovers."

Park Hills took a 15-11 lead into the second quarter and held a 31-27 lead at halftime. The Lady Rebels, the Mineral Area Activities Association season and tournament champions, took a 52-46 lead into the fourth quarter. Park Hills opened up a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter, but saw Perryville close the gap to three points down the stretch.

"The girls never gave up," said Lohmann. "With 20 seconds left they were still in there fighting."

Lohmann added, "I was proud of my team. They worked hard to get to this point."

The Lady Pirates completed their fourth straight undefeated regular season in the Jefferson County Conference, going 9-0.

"We have a pretty good nucleus coming back and I'm pretty pleased with that," said Lohmann.

St. Vincent 51, Scott City 34

PERRYVILLE -- Sara Cissell netted 16 points to lead St. Vincent to victory .

St. Vincent (15-8) took a 15-7 lead in the first quarter and extended its advantage to double figures, 25-12, by halftime. Scott City trimmed the deficit to 33-25 by the start of the fourth quarter, but St. Vincent pulled away with an 18-9 scoring advantage over the final eight minutes.

Freshman Amber Dannenmueller led Scott City (7-13) with 14 points and Rachel Spinks added 10.

St. Vincent returns to action tonight at Oran.