'Jays reclaim U-High throne

Charleston's "drought" is over.

After a two-year hiatus, the Bluejays once again are kings of the University High Christmas Tournament, beating third-seeded Jackson 54-44 Saturday night at the Show Me Center.

The Bluejays have now won 14 U-High titles in the 57 years of the tournament, the most by any team.

Charleston was in control of the game throughout the second half but it couldn't put the game away.

A technical foul on the tournament's leading scorer, Jordy Mixon, with 46 seconds left gave Jackson a glimmer of hope, but the Indians missed their shots down the stretch. Jackson made only six of its 17 free throws for the game.

Jackson, which trailed by nine at halftime, cut its deficit to 30-26 with 3:11 left in the third quarter. But a two-handed, fast-break dunk by 6-foot-5 freshman Ashton Farmer sparked an 8-3 run to end the third period and the Bluejays took a 38-29 lead into the final eight minutes of play. Jackson couldn't recover.

The first half was one of several mini-runs.

Jackson started the game a bit tight, turning the ball over three times and missing its first three shots. Charleston scored the first six points but Jackson got hot midway through the first, connecting on four straight attempts to tie the game at 8-8.

Charleston made six of its eight shots in the first quarter, but turned the ball over nine times. The Bluejays led 14-13 after the first eight minutes.

Jackson scored the first six points of the second quarter and led 19-14 after a basket by Stephen Sauer with 4:42 to go. It was the last points Jackson would score before halftime.

Kewain Gant stopped the bleeding with a bucket with 4:29 to go and Charleston finished the second quarter on a 12-0 run to lead 26-19 at halftime.