Indians take control in second quarter

Jackson's Jake Leet flew in for two points against Central on Friday night at the Show Me Center. [Click to enlarge]

Grantham and Leet combined for 33 points in Jackson's 59-47 win.

When Jackson beat Scott City on Thursday to advance to the semifinals of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament, Hunter Grantham dominated first-half play while Jake Leet led the Indians in the second half.

It was the other way around Friday night when the Indians met Central in the semifinals at the Show Me Center.

Leet came out strong early, leading his team with 13 first-half points, and Grantham controlled play after the break with 13 second-half points as the No. 3 Indians rolled to a 59-47 win over the No. 7 Tigers.

Neither Grantham nor Leet said he planned out a role reversal.

"No, just all five of us come out there and play hard," Grantham said. "Just sometimes the boards go opposite where I am. ... The boards weren't falling good the first half and falling good the second half."

Grantham netted 18 points, Spencer Goodman poured in 16 and Leet added 15 to help the Indians advance to today's 7:30 p.m. championship game against Notre Dame. The Bulldogs moved on with a 70-67 win over Charleston.

"It's a great team," Central senior Chase Johnson said of Jackson. "They made shots that we didn't make. ... We were not trying to focus on one player. We were just trying to go out there and play our game. We have big men, too. It just came down to whose shots were going in and whose wasn't. They came to play good ball."

Leet played especially strong toward the end of the first and into the second quarter.

He nailed a 3-pointer at the end of the first to bring his team within one point at 10-9. Then he started off the second quarter by hitting another 3-point field goal from the corner to put the Indians on top 12-10.

Leet led his team with eight points, including hitting two 3-pointers, in the second period. His other 3-point basket came with 1 minute, 6 seconds before halftime to put the Indians ahead by seven at 23-16.

Thirty seconds later, Leet missed a 3-pointer but stole a rebound and made a nifty pass to Goodman, who streaked in for a layup, drew the foul and made his free throw to complete a three-point play. With that, the Indians led 26-16 at the break.

"That was just hustle, that play," Goodman said. "He shot it and he knew he missed one when it left his hands, so he wanted to get the ball and he got it. I was standing on the block and luckily he got me the ball."

Leet's effort helped Jackson outscore Central 17-9 in the second and open a 10-point lead to begin the third.

The Tigers were able to narrow the Jackson lead to six points toward the beginning of the third, but the two big Jackson inside players, 6-5 Grantham and 6-6 Goodman, helped the Indians pull away by going on a 16-7 run to close out the quarter.

Jackson headed into the fourth ahead 45-30, and Grantham scored the first two baskets of the quarter to give his team a 49-30 advantage. From there, the Indians rolled to a 12-point win.

Jackson returns to the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament title game for the second straight year after losing to Bell City in 2006.

Grantham said he's ready for a different outcome this winter.

"It was probably the worst feeling I ever had playing for Jackson," Grantham said of last year's loss. "Notre Dame is a big rival and I think this year we'll come out and play the first three minutes, which is always what we emphasize. I think we come out hard those first three minutes and show them we are here and we are ready to play. I think we can play with them pretty well the whole game."

Jackson (59) -- Marcus Harris 5, Spencer Goodman 16, Jake Leet 15, Hunter Grantham 18, Antonio Garritano 5. FG 20, FT 16-24, F 14 (3-pointers: Leet 3. Fouled out: none.)

Central (47) -- Anthony Watts 9, Chase Johnson 8, Shane Nolen 13, Zack Boerboom 6, Drew Gardner 7, Derek Walker 2, Rick Russell 2. FG 20, FT 4-7, F 18 (3-pointers: Watts 1, Gardner 2. Fouled out: none)