Semoball

Stingy defensive effort leads Charleston boys basketball team to Class 3, District 1 title over Malden

Members of the Charleston boys basketball team celebrate winning the Class 3, District 1 Tournament Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018 at New Madrid County Central High School. (Chris Pobst/Standard Democrat)

NEW MADRID, Mo. – Charleston’s Demarcus Sharp had Malden’s Malcom McBride in his sights. Already down 9-0, Sharp wasn’t about to let that deficit hit double-digits.

The 6-2 guard gave chase from behind and a mighty swing sent McBride’s shot off the backboard and into another pair of Bluejay hands.

Sharp’s chase-down block was a sign of what was to come and how Thursday’s Class 3, District 1 championship game was going to be won.

A smothering defensive effort from the top-seeded Charleston boys basketball team led to a 60-52 win over No. 2 Malden at New Madrid County Central High School giving the storied basketball program its 35th district championship. It’s also Charleston’s eighth-straight and ninth district title in the last 10 years.

Malden's Dushawn Butler is covered by Charleston's Latrell Porter (22) during the Class 3, District 1 Tournament championship Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018 at New Madrid County Central High School. (Chris Pobst/Standard Democrat)

The Bluejays knew they’d have to clamp down defensively to pull out a win. They narrowly escaped Malden in their regular season meeting during an 81-79, double overtime game Feb. 6. Charleston didn’t want another shootout on their hands.

“That’s what our gameplan was,” Charleston head coach Danny Farmer said. “I realized after we played them the last time that we were lucky to win that game and I didn’t want this one to be a shootout.”

While defense was the key, Charleston got its offense from their two go-to scorers.

Senior forward Mardareyon Clark had a stellar outing, scoring a game-high 26 points on 11 of 16 shooting while mostly getting fed around the rim. Senior guard Demarcus Sharp added 16 points and filled the stat sheet with eight assists, five rebounds, four blocks and three steals.

On top of Clark and Sharp’s usual offensive output, perhaps the most valuable player in Thursday’s title game was Latrell Porter. The junior guard was tasked with chasing Malden’s leading scorer, Dushawn Butler, around and keeping the talented scorer limited as best he could.

After Porter got done with him, Butler ended up with 12 points after scoring eight of those in the first quarter. Butler was just two days away from torching East Prairie for 31 points during the semifinal round and was undoubtedly on Charleston’s radar.

“He played great against us the last time, played great against East Prairie and I’ve been keeping up with him,” Farmer said. “I know he’s their player. He’s their go-to. We just wanted to blanket him, double-team him every time he got it. Make the other guys beat us… Porter did a great job on him.”

Charleston's Mardareyon Clark attempts a shot against Malden during the Class 3, District 1 Tournament championship Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018 at New Madrid County Central High School. (Chris Pobst/Standard Democrat)

It took Sharp’s block to turn things around for the state-ranked Bluejays (22-8), who allowed Malden to get hot right out of the gate. The Green Wave hit their first three shots and stormed out to a 9-0 lead behind a 3-point play and 3 from Butler and another 3 from Chience Booker, who finished with a team-leading 17 points.

Then Sharp’s block happened and the course was changed.

From that point on, Malden was met with a ferocious defensive effort from the Bluejays. Hands were in faces, shooters were closed out on, and Charleston’s famed man-to-man defense had it’s impact.

Malden (22-7) shot just 2 for 8 the rest of the quarter, 5 for 14 in the second and finished 20 for 47 (42 percent) total from the floor. They also had 16 turnovers with 11 Charleston steals being the main culprit.

“[They’re defense] is very good,” Malden head coach Andrew Halford said. “We were fortunate enough the first time we played them to knock down some outside shots early. We did that in the first quarter, but the second quarter killed us… They were doing a very good job of staying with our guys and making it difficult for us to do anything.”

Charleston’s nine-point deficit didn’t stand for long. They finished the quarter on a 14-5 run to tie things up by the quarter’s end. They traded a few baskets with the Green Wave during the second quarter, but the Bluejays eventually took control with a 8-2 run that put them ahead 27-20.

If Charleston didn’t have a transition opportunity, their offense ran through Clark. The 6-4 senior had no rival once he posted up, finishing the first half with 15 points on 6 of 10 shooting.

Charleston's Demarcus Sharp attempts a shot against Malden during the Class 3, District 1 Tournament championship Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018 at New Madrid County Central High School. (Chris Pobst/Standard Democrat)

“We knew they had no answer for Clark,” Farmer said. “We knew they’d have trouble with him down low so we wanted to establish that early on.”

The Bluejays never stormed ahead for a big lead in the second half, but didn’t really need to. Malden was still under their immense pressure defense and had trouble finding any rhythm because of it.

“No matter what set we run, we just couldn’t get anything good,” Halford said.

The Green Wave managed to trim a one-time 13-point Charleston lead to four after a 3 by Booker made it 56-52. They even had a chance to cut it further after Butler picked off a pass and beat two Bluejays to the basket, but his layup rimmed out.

Charleston sank four-straight free throws after that to seal the win.

“These district titles aren’t easy to come by,” Farmer said. “Every time we’re in the championship game it’s a game of this caliber, regardless of who the team is. It’s a tough game. Malden had a great season also. They played us to overtime early on so they came ready to play and they should. It was up to us to prevent them.”

Charleston will take on the winner of the Class 3, District 2 championship game between Saxony Lutheran and Doniphan on Wednesday at 7:45 p.m., in Dexter, Mo. The Bluejays will look to advance past the sectional round for the first time since 2014 after falling to New Madrid County Central, Caruthersville and Saxony Lutheran the past three years.

“We’re trying to get past sectionals,” Clark said. “We just have to keep pushing and get to a higher level. The last three years we’ve lost in the same spot. We’re tying to advance.”

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MALDEN (52) – Ontario Reed 2, Dushawn Butler 12, Broddric Annesser 10, Jalen Miller 4, Malcom McBride 2, Chience Booker 17, Dee Triplett 5. FG 20 FT 8-13 F 15. (3-pointers: Butler 1, Booker 3. Fouled out: Miller.)

CHARLESTON (60) – Terridean Bogan 2, Preston Moore 3, Latrell Porter 4, Demarcus Sharp 16, Mardareyon Clark 26, Jeremy Tucker 9. FG 24 FT 8-15 F 11. (3-pointers: Moore 1, Sharp 2, Tucker 1. Fouled out: none.)

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