High-spin states in 39 Ar were populated using the 27 Al(14 C, pn) reaction at 25.6 MeV. The deexciting γ rays were measured with the FSU γ detector array along with evaporation protons in a Si E-∆E telescope. The known high-spin level scheme was extended up to over 11 MeV with a dozen new levels above the neutron decay threshold. The decay pattern appears somewhat atypical for heavy-ion fusion-evaporation reactions. The structure of 39 Ar is discussed in terms of the new FSU cross-shell spsdpf interaction fitted to a wide range of nuclei. This interaction has proved quite successful in accounting for the level scheme of 39 Ar, including the previously suggested fully aligned πf 7/2 ⊗ νf 7/2 17/2 + state and previously discovered analogs of the lowest states in 39 Cl.