Charleston holds off Lafayette County to win 12th state title
By Cody Thorn I Photos by Cheap Seats Photography
SPRINGFIELD — Charleston got to celebrate winning the Class 3 state championship twice on Friday, all within a few seconds off each other.
A bizarre finish in the closing seconds set up the sequence where the Blue Jays thought they won after a tie-up was followed by the buzzer.
The players ran to the middle of JQH Arena to celebrate but in the words of ESPN football analyst Lee Corso, “Not so fast, my friend.”
The officials talked and 0.08 seconds were left on the clock but the possession arrow favored Charleston, which led 58-56 at the time.
A long inbound pass by Ben Bledsoe found PJ Farmer, who threw up a shot at the buzzer that didn’t really matter as the No. 3-ranked Blue Jays prevailed in a closely contested showdown with the No. 4-ranked Huskers.
The title was No. 12 for the Southeast Missouri school and the first since 2012. Head coach Jamarcus Williams, a Charleston alum, is the fourth different coach to lead the Blue Jays to a title, joining Danny Farmer, Bobby Spencer and Lennies McFerren.
The Blue Jays are now tied for the second most in MSHAA history with Vashon. Scott County Central is the all-time leader with 18.
“We just gutted it out,” Williams said. “The ending was nuts, I thought the game was over and they put .8 on the clock. When I saw it was in our possession, I was relieved. I just wanted to throw it deep and if we throw it at the opposite free-throw line and (Lafayette County) scores, I will be a mad son of a gun.”
Charleston closed the year out winning its final 13 and snapped Lafayette County’s 14-game winning streak.
The teams were tied three times in the fourth quarter, the latest at 54-54 with 2 minutes, 49 seconds to play following a jumper by Lafayette County’s Josiah Golden.
More than a minute elapsed before either team scored, but a steal and layup by Farmer gave Charleston the lead for good. A steal by Rico Coleman with 50 seconds left set up the final basket for the Blue Jays, a layup by junior guard Fletravion Stanback with 47 seconds left.
The Huskers (30-2) answered with a shot inside by center Cade Limback with 36 seconds left. Lafayette County got the ball with 19 seconds left after a rebound by Mason Rumsey on a Charleston miss.
The tie-up happened after Rumsey drove the lane and the ball was knocked loose. Limback picked it up, but Coleman reached in and got the tie up call.
“Tough game ... these hurt,” a solemn Lafayette County head coach Jim Stoner said. “Probably be easier to lose by 30. This one is painful. With that said, our kids never quit and took us and our school and our community on a ride. We haven’t been in the final four in 39 years and to be that close to a state championship is a special ride. It is hard to appreciate right now but I know we will in a couple of weeks, but it hurts right now.”
A key factor in the win was the play of Stanback, who scored a game-high 25 points. He hit 11 of 13 shots, a night after going 0-for-5 in a win against Duchesne.
He accounted for nine of Charleston’s 13 points in the first quarter, but Lafayette County led 15-13.
“I didn’t play that well, and I knew I could play better,” said Stanback, who played as a freshman in Charleston’s title game loss two years ago. “I focused on my job. We weren’t finished. I had to lock in and play better. It was kind of shook last night ending with one point. I know I’m a way better player than that. I was shocked. I let my team down and that probably could’ve cost us the game. I contributed with rebounding and defense but I was hoping I could come out and play better and contribute more. (The early points) gave me a big confidence boost. I hit shots and I was finishing at the rim and the game just came to me.”
Farmer scored 19 points for Charleston and Coleman had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
This was the best finish for the Huskers, who had taken fourth in the previous four trips to state. Lafayette County had three players in double figure, led by Rumsey’s 19. Golden had 14 and Kyzer Gann-Vega chipped with 10.
Third-place game: Thayer 70, Duchesne 45
The Bobcats bounced back from a semifinal loss by getting a convincing win over the Pioneers in the third-place game held Friday at the Hammons Student Center.
At halftime, Duchesne held a 30-29 lead over the No. 1-ranked Bobcats, but Thayer outscored the St. Charles school, 21-1, in the third quarter.
That pretty much wrapped up the win, building a 19-point advantage for Thayer (29-2).
Eight seconds into the third quarter, Landry Pitts hit a jumper that gave the Bobcats the lead for the final time. Thayer went on a 16-0 run and held the Pioneers (15-18) scoreless until a free throw by Ethan Kissell with 1:34 left in the quarter.
Jordan Andrews tallied 12 of his game-high 33 points in the third quarter for Thayer.
The Pioneers never never cut the 19-point deficit down any further than 15 the rest of the way.
Duchesne never trailed by more than two points in the first half and led for most of the second quarter. A steal and layup by Josh Baker-Mays gave the Pioneers a 25-19 lead with 4:03 left in the second quarter. The two teams were tied two times over the final 3 minutes of the first half but a 3-pointer by Kissell gave the Pioneers a 30-29 lead at the break.
Baker-Mays had 18 points, while Amorion Oliphant scored 12 to pace Duchesne’s offense. Along with Andrews’ 33 points, two other players scored in double figures: Pitts accounted for 14 and Keaton Nicholson added 12 and led the team with nine rebounds.
