Bell City outlasts Jackson in OT

Sporting the only state championship in the seMissourian Christmas Tournament's 16-team field, the Bell City Cubs didn't take much stock in their sixth seed.

And that showed Friday night when the Cubs' one-two all-state scoring punch of Dominitrix Johnson and Eric Henry combined for 56 points and Bell City recovered from a late Jackson comeback to win 86-81 in overtime.

"They're really good players," Jackson coach Mike Kiehne said of Henry and Johnson, "Better than most in the tournament."

No. 3 Jackson started off slow, falling behind 7-0 early before Jeff Beck's three-pointer late in the first quarter brought the Indians to a 7-7 tie. The Cubs recovered though and took a 16-15 lead into the second quarter.

Kiehne said Jackson's early offensive struggles aren't new.

"The game was indicative of the season," he said. "We missed shots early."

Jackson took its first lead of the night after Tyler McNeely sank a couple of free throws. The Cubs went on one a spurt after McNeely's free throws, scoring 10 straight points to push their lead to 26-17.

Jackson kept it close with the help of Tyler Boyd, who scored eight points in the second quarter. With Boyd and Cubs sharp-shooter Kenyon Wright trading three-pointers at the end of the half, Jackson found itself down 37-31.

Boyd said the Indians finally found their touch from the outside Friday night.

"We had struggled all year from the three point line," he said.

Bell City's interior defense held McNeely, Jackson's top scorer, to only five first-half points. The Cubs used several different players to slow McNeely.

"I thought all the kids that guarded McNeely did a great job," Bell City coach David Heeb said.

Jackson went to the inside to start the fourth quarter, as McNeely scored six quick points for the Indians. The Cubs kept pace early, but Jackson slowly chipped away at Bell City's lead, until Boyd's rebound and basket with 2:30 left brought the teams even at 64.

"We had guys step up and make big plays for us at the end," Kiehne said.

After pulling even, Jackson forced a quick turnover and took its first lead since early in the second quarter with a Matt Neal three-pointer. Wright answered with a three for Bell City, and the teams traded baskets down the stretch.

"I thought Kenyon Wright was tremendous down the stretch," Heeb said.

Henry came up big for the Cubs, scoring Bell City's final four points of the game. Henry's four points all came from the line, hitting one-of-two with 22 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 73. Boyd came up short on his three-point attempt late, and McNeely's 10-footer off the Boyd miss just missed at the buzzer.

Heeb said the Cubs were lucky to get the game to overtime.

"Honestly I thought Jackson outworked us tonight," he said.

Jackson grabbed a quick 74-73 lead in overtime, and stayed with the Cubs despite the strong efforts of Johnson and Henry. Beck's shooting kept the Indians in it, sinking four free throws in overtime to keep Jackson within one. After a free throw from Johnson pushed the lead to four, Beck hit a deep three to bring the score to 82-81 with 1:20 left.

The Cubs didn't panic, and Johnson put on a dribbling display that shed 30 seconds off the clock before getting the ball to Wright who hit two free throws after drawing a foul.

Kiehne said his team just couldn't get the crucial calls down the stretch.

"Sometimes you need calls to get you over the hump," he said.

Jackson couldn't answer Wright's free throws, and Johnson iced the game with two free throws at the end to give Bell City the five-point win.

Henry led all scorers with 32 points.

"This showed we can play with these bigger schools," he said.

Jackson was led by Beck, who scored 22 points. Boyd added 20 and McNeely had 18.

Johnson scored 21 for the Cubs and Wright had 16.

jjoffray@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 171