Jackson boys basketball team stopped by De Smet in Class 5 quarterfinals

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- Sometimes results are easy to explain.

"We just got beat by a really good basketball team," Jackson boys basketball coach Darrin Scott said. "They were good today."

The Indians lost to De Smet 81-48 in a Class 5 quarterfinal Saturday afternoon at Lindenwood University.

"They're really good, and they might have played even better than they are maybe," Scott said. "I don't know. They were really good."

The Spartans (24-6) entered the game on a nine-game winning streak and had won 13 of their last 14 behind 6-foot-8 senior Nolan Berry, who has committed to play at Butler next season.

LEFT: Jackson senior Luke Stevens, right, embraces junior teammate Karson King at the end of the fourth quarter. (ABOVE: Jackson fans root on the Indians during their Class 5 quarterfinal game against De Smet.)

"We wanted to make them make baskets and take away Berry, of course," Jackson sophomore Blake Reynolds said. "We didn't do the best job of that [today]. They did a great job finding the open man, so we made the shooters make shots, and they stroked it tonight."

Jackson limited Berry's touches in the early going thanks to the defense of senior Luke Stevens.

"I thought he did a great job," Scott said. "He was undersized, but he was physical. He played without fouling. He just didn't foul. He did a good job keeping Berry from getting the ball in good spots a lot. I thought he did a great job with the game plan. Luke did a good job."

Berry scored four points in the opening quarter, but Brandon Shackleford, Mitchell Plassmeyer and James Barton combined to make four of six shots from behind the 3-point line.

"Our game plan was to find the shooters in transition because they were 4 [Shackleford], 14 [Plassmeyer] and 10 [Barton]," Stevens said. "We knew that from the start, but if you're not on the court you don't understand that when you're in transition it's a lot more difficult to find them than what you think it is going to be.

Jackson’s Josh Daume drives against De Smet’s Brandon Shackleford during the first quarter of their Class 5 quarterfinal game Saturday in St. Charles, Mo. De Smet won 81-48. (Laura Simon)

"It's not just something that you can do easily. You also have to worry about Berry because they pushed the ball well and he got a couple dunks in. Finding shooters is a difficult thing in basketball, but that's just something you really have to work on. They were hot, so it's definitely more difficult."

The Spartans made eight of their first 11 3-point attempts in the game before cooling off and eventually finishing 10 of 17.

"If you get out on their shooters tight, Berry and [Alec] Bausch, they're really good," Scott said. "They've had games where those guys haven't shot as well, and we felt like that was our best strategy."

Five De Smet players finished in double digits. Berry had 20 points and seven rebounds, Plassmeyer finished with 15, Barton had 14, Bausch had 12 and Shackleford had 10.

"Berry's good, but we played hard," Stevens said. "We didn't get the result we wanted, but I'm glad we had this experience."

Jackson’s Josh Daume passes over De Smet defenders in the third quarter of the Indians’ Class 5 quarterfinal game against the Spartans on Saturday in St. Charles, Mo.

Jackson shot 39 percent (19 of 49) in the game, compared to 58 percent for DeSmet.

"They made it tough on us," Scott said about his team's offensive execution. "I still think we were a little quick. I'd like for us to be a little more patient to get the shots we wanted to, and that played into it. In big games everything was just a little quick for us."

The Indians had 16 turnovers in the game.

"Early on we had problems getting the ball up the court," Reynolds said. "They pressured us a lot. They put a lot of great pressure on the ballhandlers. We tried running some sets, and that's when we did get into our offense. But then about the second quarter, I think, we were starting to have trouble getting into our sets, getting into our offense, so they really did a good job defending."

Jackson played in more big games than was expected this season after upsetting Chaminade in the sectional round to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time in 21 years.

Jackson’s Caleb Deloach takes a shot in the fourth quarter of the Indians’ Class 5 quarterfinal game against the Spartans on Saturday in St. Charles, Mo.

The Indians will return close to 80 percent of its scoring and rebounding next season. Scott said he hoped the returning players will learn from this season's experiences.

"One, the positives of growing as a team, winning the sectional game and those things," Scott said. "You hope they also learn from this game, the feelings and what they've got to do to be ready to play in this game if they get a chance to play in a game like this again."

Jackson finished the season 19-11.

"I love them all, and all the hard work that they put in -- I really appreciate it," Stevens said about the team's underclassmen. "It was definitely a great year, and I appreciate everything they did for me, and I hope they keep going next year."

DeSmet 24 22 17 18 -- 81

The Jackson Indian roots from the stands in the third quarter of the Indians' Class 5 quarterfinal game against the De Smet Spartans Saturday, March 9, 2013 in St. Charles, Mo. De Smet won 81-48. (Laura Simon)

Jackson 12 11 12 13 -- 48

DE SMET (81) -- Brandon Shackleford 10, James Barton 14, Mitchell Plassmeyer 15, Nolan Berry 20, Alec Bausch 12, Jacob Randall 3, Chris Klages 2, Tim Weber 2, John Barron 3. FG 30, FT 10-17, F 11. (3-pointers: Shackleford 2, Barton 2, Plassmeyer 5, Randall 1. Fouled out: none)

JACKSON (48) -- Josh Daume 5, Braxton McDowell 3, Karson King 13, Blake Reynolds 11, Luke Stevens 6, Braden Wendel 4, Skyler Steele 2, Connor Shepar 2, Brandon Lueders 2. FG 19, FT 7-13, F 13. (3-pointers: Daume 1, McDowell 1, King 1. Fouled out: none)