Indians, 'Jays left standing

Jeffrey Beck's back must be sore.

After all, he carried his team to the University High School Christmas Tournament finals Friday night.

Beck hit a game-tying layup at the buzzer of regulation and scored seven of his team's 12 points in overtime as third-seeded Jackson slipped past No. 2 Notre Dame 61-52 at the Show Me Center.

"That performance tonight should get him on the all-tournament team," said a beaming Mike Kiehne, Jackson's head coach. "Jeffrey Beck is a tremendous man. He pulled us out and he was so tough."

Jackson (6-4) trailed 47-43 with 1:23 left in the fourth quarter, but Kiehne said the game "had a certain feel" to it.

Notre Dame (6-4) had chances to put the game away, but the Bulldogs -- who have struggled from the free-throw line all year -- missed four of their five foul shots in the last two minutes to allow Jackson to stay in it. From the fourth quarter on, Notre Dame made just three of its 10 free throws. The Bulldogs made just five of 16 on the night.

Jackson made 17 of 21 from the fourth quarter on.

After a pair of missed free throws by Notre Dame's Scott Wittenborn, Seth McDowell swished a 3-pointer near the top of the key to tie the game at 47 and bring a resounding ovation from the Jackson faithful.

Notre Dame called a timeout and ran its offense to near perfection, getting a fairly easy layup from Cory Beussink to go ahead 49-47 with eight seconds left.

Jackson quickly pushed the ball up the court and Nathan Brown found Beck in the far right corner of the court.

"Nathan caught the ball at about half court and I raised my hand up," said Beck, who finished with 16 points. "It was a perfect pass. I thought about the three, but I knew the lane was open so I took it up."

He drove baseline and got the shot up in traffic just before the buzzer sounded.

But Beck's heroics had just begun.

In overtime, after Jackson had posted a 51-49 lead on a pair of free throws by Tyler McNeely, Beck was fouled with 1:57 to go.

He hit six straight free throws on three consecutive possessions before missing one of two on the fourth possession when the game was already decided.

"I knew I could make them," said Beck. "I just wanted to win. My team had confidence in me because they kept giving me the ball."

The game ended in a much more entertaining fashion than it began.

Both teams struggled in the first quarter as Jackson turned the ball over eight times and Notre Dame nine. Jackson held a 12-8 lead after the first quarter, but Notre Dame finished the first half strong and the game was tied at 20 going into the intermission.

The offensive production picked up significantly by both teams in the second half and there were three ties and four lead changes before McDowell scored with one second left to give Jackson a 38-37 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Notre Dame took a 39-38 lead on its first possession of the fourth quarter and held a lead until the buzzer.

Bulldogs coach Darrin Scott, obviously dejected, had little to say following the tough defeat.

"Jackson played well," he said. "They made their free throws when it counted."

Travis Siebert and Tyler Cuba both scored 14 points to lead Notre Dame, followed by Wittenborn with 13.

McDowell led all scorers with 21 points.