INDIANS, TIGERS SET TITLE BOUT; TOP-SEEDED INDIANS SLAY KNIGHTS 60-51

Like a dog that wants your steak, Farmington High wouldn't go away.

But once Cory Daniel's anxiety abated, Jackson slayed the Knights.

Leading by three points with 3 minutes 45 seconds to go, Daniel at last broke a game-long funk, scoring eight straight points, and led the Indians Tuesday night to a 60-51 win in a semifinal game in the Class 4A, District 1 tournament at Tiger Fieldhouse.

Jackson will meet Cape Girardeau Central in the championship game Friday night at 7:30.

A rare 4-point play from Farmington's Bryan Swartz, who finished with a team-high 12 points, and a free throw by Jackson's Brandon Blattel made the score 49-45 with 3:14 left. Then with Farmington sustaining a long defensive stand, Daniel got wide-open underneath, breaking the Knights' momentum -- and his slump -- with 2:09 to go.

"They lost track of where I was," Daniel said, "and I just kind of ran around and got open underneath the basket."

Said Farmington coach Justin Callahan: "(Justin) Keen had fouled out, we got to three, and I felt pretty good about our chances. But then we let down. One of our big people lost sight of the man and was staring at the ball, and (Daniel) went back door and got the wide-open layup and just killed us."

Daniel, who scored nine of his 12 points in the fourth quarter, converted a 3-point play with 1:30 left before making 3 of 4 free throws in the last minute, putting the Indians ahead 57-49 with a half minute left.

"I had a real bad first half," Daniel said. "The second half I just finally got over being nervous ... and I finally pulled myself out of my little hole I was in."

Said Jackson coach Steve Burk: "(Daniel) stepped up and played well, especially the last 12 minutes of the game. He got some boards and got some baskets."

Jackson, the No. 1 seed, held a 19-11 first-quarter edge and led 28-23 at halftime.

A 7-0 run by Farmington, the fourth seed, tied the game 33-33 with 2:15 to go. Jackson then scored the last six points of the period as Doug Cary hit a 3-pointer and Jeff Walter scored a transition basket. The run extended to 10 points as Tory Meyr hit a 3 to open the fourth period and Daniel made a free throw, making the score 43-33 with 6:06 left.

"I thought we played in spurts," Burk said. "We'd play well for two or three minutes, and then we'd struggle for two or three minutes. The second half their press gave us problems, especially after Keen fouled out, but we hit our free throws down the stretch, and we did the things we had to do to win."

Jackson turned the ball over 16 times, 12 in the second half. The Knights committed just six turnovers.

"We did a real good job of fighting back and getting into it," Callahan said. "But then we just let up a little bit, and Jackson's so well-balanced this year, they would answer. You've got to give them credit."

Keen finished with 12 points and Levi Bollinger added 10. Jeff Walter, Jackson's 6-5 center, was limited to eight points. The win was Jackson's third this season over the Knights.

"That's the irony of it all," Callahan said. "We said before the game that if we could just stop Walter from getting 21 points like he did the first two (games against us), we would win. But they've just got so many other kids that step up."

Said Burk: "I thought they did a very good job on Walter, and I thought we didn't do a very good job of getting him the ball.

"We're going to have to handle pressure (in the championship game) better than we did tonight. We've got to get the ball to Jeff Walter better than we did tonight. We need to play defense a little better than we did tonight. If we don't do those things, we're in trouble."