Charleston wins battle of the birds to reach semis

A pair of Blue Jays go up for a rebound during Charleston's 81-48 win over Woodland on Tuesday evening at the Show Me Center.

Megan Burke ~ Southeast Missourian

Fletravion Stanback’s 29-point night led the offensive onslaught for the Charleston Blue Jays in their 81-48 win over the Woodland Cardinals on Tuesday evening at the Show Me Center.

Blue Jays coach Jamarcus Williams credited the mental aspect of the game for Stanback’s big night.

“He played with confidence,” Williams said. “He’s had a few games where he’s struggled to score and shots weren’t falling and I could kind of see his confidence start to fade but tonight he was confident out of the gate and that’s what we want and that’s what we need all season long.”

Williams was happy with the play of his team.

“Overall, I was pleased with our effort,” Williams said. “I thought we rebounded very well, we got to the paint and scored and we shot it well from the free throw line.”

Charleston jumped out to a 23-12 lead after one quarter of play and they were able to stretch that lead to 49-26 heading into halftime.

The halftime break didn’t cool off the Blue Jays as they put up a 32-point second half to reach the final of 81-48.

Following up Stanback’s 29-point night was Rico Coleman with 18 points and Ko’Terrion Owens with 15 points.

Woodland’s Jarid Frymire led the scoring for the Cardinals with an 18-point evening. Lan VanGennip followed up with 9 points and Brayden Hastings had 8 points of his own in the loss.

Woodland (3-2) will take on the loser of Jackson and Oran at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 28 at the Show Me Center.

Charleston (7-4) awaits the winner of Jackson and Oran and will look to earn a spot in the 2022 Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament Championship at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 28.

If the Indians knock off Oran, the Blue Jays will get a highly coveted rematch with the Indians after Jackson beat Charleston 81-53 at the SEMO Conference Tournament in Sikeston.

“We just have to continue to get better,” Williams said. “If the opponent is Jackson tomorrow then we have to do everything better. We have to rebound better, shoot better, box out better, make free throws and just play a much better overall game.”