Charleston knocks off Central for third place at Christmas Tournament

Greg Tucker very nearly played basketball for Central.

He instead attends Charleston, and the strong, quick junior guard helped the Bluejays get the best of the Tigers in Thursday's third-place game of the Southeast Missourian Christmas tournament.

Tucker scored 28 points, 14 in the decisive fourth quarter, to help the fifth-seeded Bluejays rally past second-seeded Central 68-64.

Charleston (8-3) knocked off both Cape Girardeau teams -- including fourth-seeded Notre Dame in the quarterfinals -- to better its seeding by two places.

"It feels real good," Tucker said. "We're happy how we played here."

Tucker had a big tournament, finishing among the top scorers with 79 points.

Thursday's performance was particularly satisfying for Clark, Charleston's tallest player at 6 foot 2. He bested a squad featuring players he is familiar with.

"I know a lot of them," Tucker said. "I like when their crowd, the Jungle, talks."

Tucker said he lived in Cape Girardeau from the sixth through eighth grades. He attended Central's summer workouts before his freshman year but then his mother moved to Charleston.

Central's loss has been Charleston's gain. Tucker was solid on varsity as a sophomore last year and has improved to the point where he already is receiving Division I recruiting interest.

"He can create his own shot, he can do a lot of things inside and outside," Charleston coach Danny Farmer said. "He's playing a lot smarter this year. He's really matured."

Tucker scored on 3-pointers -- he made four -- mid-range jumpers and drives into the lane.

Central (7-3) led much of the way in a game that was close throughout. The Tigers were ahead 35-28 at halftime and 46-42 after three quarters.

It was 50-45 early in the final period when Tucker led a charge that turned the tide in Charleston's favor.

Tucker scored eight points -- six coming on a pair of 3-pointers -- during a 12-0 burst that put Charleston up 57-50 with just less than five minutes left.

Central cut the deficit to four points six times but could get no closer. The Tigers were forced to foul and Charleston made enough free throws down the stretch.

Tucker fittingly iced the victory by making 4 of 4 from the line in the final 35 seconds.

"He's a very good free-throw shooter," Farmer said. "We wanted the ball in his hands at the end."

Central, which had a major height advantage, dominated much of the inside play. That was especially the case in the first half before Charleston's pressure began to take a toll by forcing turnovers.

"They're a very good team," Farmer said. "We regrouped at halftime and changed some things around."

James Lane, a 6-5 senior forward, paced the Tigers with 25 points.

T.J. Tisdale, a 6-5 junior forward, had 22 points for Central and finished among the leading scorers in the tournament.

"Being smaller, we have to be smarter than everybody," Tucker said. "We picked up our intensity in the second half."

Farmer had few complaints after a tournament that saw the Bluejays go 3-1 and give eventual champion Scott County Central its closest game in the semifinals.

"We were really pleased," Farmer said. "I told the kids what we did was the next best thing to winning the championship."