Bulldogs zip past Indians for title

~ The Bulldogs hit three key 3-pointers down the stretch to keep Jackson at bay.

The Notre Dame boys basketball team completed its upset-driven run through the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament by knocking off No. 2 Jackson 74-65 in the championship game Friday night at the Show Me Center.

The fifth-seeded Bulldogs brought home their first tournament title since 1986 by defeating fourth-seeded Central, No. 1 Charleston and then ending No. 2 Jackson's string at two straight tournament titles.

"We have a special team," Notre Dame senior Alex Ressel said. "We have a lot of determination. Our guys trust each other a lot. We have a great team."

The Bulldogs (11-1) took a first-half lead thanks to their relentless press, but it was their shooting which eventually proved to be the difference. After the Indians had clawed back to take a 52-51 lead less than a minute into the fourth -- the lead was the first for Jackson since being up 6-0 in the opening minutes of the game -- Notre Dame hit three 3-pointers down the stretch to pull out the victory.

"They got some opportunities to get some open looks and they knocked them down to get the lead back," Jackson coach Darrin Scott said. "That was the key part in the game."

Senior guard Xavier Delph's 3-pointer midway through the quarter put Notre Dame up 58-52. Jackson inched back to within one at 60-59 before sophomore Ryan Willen hit a 3-pointer to push the lead to 63-59 and put away the Indians for good.

Senior guard Kirk Boeller led the 3-point attack for the Bulldogs with three 3s and finished with 15 points. Delph had two 3-pointers and Willen had one.

"Kirk hit some big 3s and picked us up, but the biggest basket of the game was when Willen hit that 3," Notre Dame coach Paul Hale said.

Willen and Delph both played despite being severely under the weather.

"They were sick, but we weren't going to use that as an excuse," Hale said. "Those kids are gutsy kids, along with the rest of our bunch."

The area Jackson (12-2) was supposed to dominate -- in the interior -- was dominated by the 6-foot-3 Ressel. Despite facing 6-11 senior Aaron Redecker and 6-6 sophomore Hunter Grantham, Ressel finished with a game-high 22 points.

"He just went one-on-one there and beat Aaron," said Scott, who was the head coach at Notre Dame before taking the helm at Jackson last year. "I thought Hunter did a better job in stopping him, but he played well."

Ressel finished with 12 points in the opening half and had 10 after the break. Six of those points came in the decisive fourth quarter.

"I just tried to be physical with them, get in their heads," Ressel said. "I knew I could go up against them. I just tried to use my moves."

Added Hale: "I thought Alex was a man among boys."

Grantham again was a force on offense for the Indians. For the second straight night, Grantham finished with 16 points. Grantham did much of his damage in the third quarter, scoring eight of Jackson's first 10 points in the quarter to help bridge an eight-point Notre Dame halftime lead.

Scott said Grantham just keeps getting better.

"With his heart, and the way he battled, I thought he played a great game," Scott said. "If we could have gotten them [Grantham and Redecker] the ball more, the outcome could have been better for us."

Redecker finished with 13 points, including a pair of monstrous dunks in the opening minute to get the Indians out to a 6-0 lead. It was Redecker's defense which made the biggest impact, though, with five blocks in the second half.

Notre Dame's senior guard combo of Delph and Frankie Ellis combined for 22 points. Delph, Ellis and Ressel all made the all-tournament team.

Hale said the win was the result of each player knowing their roles on the team.

"I think the biggest thing is we have role players who do their job -- starter and off the bench -- and they did their job well," Hale said.

Jackson senior guard Drue McNeely scored 16 points, and Kyle Pridemore finished with 12.

This was the second time this season the Indians have lost in a tournament final, with their only other loss coming to Doniphan in the finals of the Farmington Tournament. Notre Dame picked up its second tournament title after winning the Woodland Tournament.

"Who would have thought after playing overtime with Meadow Heights in the Woodland Tournament we'd beat Jackson a month later," Hale said. "We have made giant strides from the start of the season."

Notre Dame 74, Jackson 65

Notre Dame 22 14 15 23 -- 74

Jackson 15 13 20 17 -- 65

NOTRE DAME (74) -- Alex Ressel 22, Frankie Ellis 12, Kirk Boeller 15, Xavier Delph 10, Ty Williams 6, Ryan Willen 5, Abe Dirnberger 4. FG 30, FT 8-13, F 10 (3-pointers: Boeller 3, Delph 2, Willen 1. Fouled out: none)

JACKSON (65) -- Drue McNeely 16, Hunter Grantham 16, Aaron Redecker 13, Kyle Pridemore 12, Jake Leet 4, Ryan Leet 4. FG 26, FT 12-16, F 13 (3-pointers: McNeely 1. Fouled out: none)