INDIANS, TIGERS PUT WRESTLERS IN STATE MEET

ST. LOUIS -- Eight Jackson and three Cape Central wrestlers finished in the top four at sectionals Saturday to advance to the state tournament next Saturday.

Among the eight qualifiers for Jackson were five champions including Brock Howard (103), Mike Wright (119), Brett Stroud (130), James Love (152) and Ray Goodson (215).

Also for Jackson, Luke Wade took second place at heavyweight, Mark Wade took third at 171 and Ricky Feiner finished fourth at 135.

"We wrestled outstanding," said Jackson coach Steve Wachter. "We had a great tournament overall and we hope this carries over to the state tournament."

For Cape Central, O.J. Turner (189) and Leland Woelk (145) were both sectional champs, while Nick Harter took fourth at 171.

"Last year we didn't have any state qualifiers for the first time in 12 years," Central coach Josh Crowell said. "We're extremely happy to have two sectional champions."

BOYS BASKETBALL

Springfield Catholic 56, Notre Dame 54

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Notre Dame misfired on a shot at the buzzer as Springfield Catholic escaped with a two-point victory.

Notre Dame (16-6), which had trailed by nine points at halftime, was working for the final shot in regulation but turned over possession on a five-second call with 15 seconds remaining and the score tied 54-54.

Springfield Catholic took advantage as it scored with five seconds left. Notre Dame was able to get off a 12-foot shot at the buzzer, but it failed to find the mark.

Notre Dame took a 9-7 lead into the second quarter, but Springfield outscored the Bulldogs 17-6 in the period for a 24-15 halftime lead. Notre Dame trailed 37-32 entering the fourth quarter but pulled even late. The Bulldogs took their first lead of the second half, 54-52, when Cory Beussink scored with about a minute left. Springfield pulled even moments later to set up the final scenario.

Mark Rubel led Notre Dame with 13 points while Travis Siebert and Scott Wittenborn scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Josh Bade netted a game-high 20 points for Springfield.

Parkway Central 61, Jackson 52

JACKSON, Mo. -- Parkway Central, one of the better basketball teams in St. Louis, outscored Jackson 21-9 in the third quarter and the Indians couldn't recover as they lost their seventh straight game.

"Same old song and dance," Jackson coach Mike Kiehne said. "Basically, we had a two-point lead at halftime and in the second half their size got to us and we just couldn't convert and we couldn't get the stops to cut into the lead."

Nathan Brown led Jackson (9-15) with 13 points, followed by Lance Bollinger with 12 and Seth McDowell with 11.

Grace Christian 73, Eagle Ridge Christian 36

WEST FRANFORT, Ill. -- Eagle Ridge succumbed to a more talented and undefeated Grace Christian squad.

Andrew Mellies scored 14 for Eagle Ridge (7-10), while Mike Probst added 12.

Grace Christian, which improved to 25-0, led 26-7 after the first quarter and 43-22 at halftime.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Notre Dame 60, Springfield Catholic 44

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Lisa Millham scored 17 points and Deana McCormick added 15 as Notre Dame improved to 18-3 on the season.

Notre Dame led 32-27 at halftime and put the game away with a strong second half. The Lady Bulldogs increased their lead to double figures in the third quarter as they took a 48-36 lead into the fourth quarter.

Millham connected for four of Notre Dame's seven 3-pointers on the game.

Springfield Catholic fell to 11-8 on the season.