Indians pull away late from Bobcats

Jackson used a strong fourth quarter to outlast Delta in what turned into the closest game of the morning session in the seMissourian Christmas Tournament's opening round.

Delta capitalized on Jackson's early lackluster play and kept the game tight after the first three quarters of play, but in the end it was all Jackson as the Indians' shots began to fall and their defense started to cause turnovers.

The third-seeded Indians won 63-42.

"We came to win," Delta coach Robert Stein said. "If we thought we weren't going to win, we wouldn't have shown up. We don't come to lay down."

Delta flashed a rugged defense that forced Jackson to rush shots early. The Indians had to look for other ways to score, but that answer didn't come in the paint either. Tyler McNeely was held to nine points by Delta's Joey Keys, who scored a Delta-leading 13.

Jackson, up 14-13 after the first quarter, led by six at halftime. It was 39-33 after the third quarter, and the Indians used a pair of key Delta turnovers to open a double-figure lead in the fourth.

"We finally broke the seal in the fourth quarter and got some shots to fall," Jackson coach Mike Kiehne said. "This same kind of thing happened the last two years and we played in the championship both years. We got some threes to fall and we started to finally relax."

Jackson was led by Tyler Boyd's 16 points. Brad Eaton contributed 13, while Nick Fiehler added 11.