JACKSON CLAIMS 5TH IN U-HIGH

When Jackson opened up a 10-point lead in the second quarter Tuesday night, a lot of Indian supporters might have thought their team was ready to blow out Delta.

But Jackson coach Steve Burk knew better. He knew the Bobcats were too scrappy and too well-coached to succumb to the Indians easily.

Jackson did end up winning the fifth-place game of the 53rd annual University High School Christmas Tournament by 10 points as the third-seeded Indians downed the fifth-seeded Bobcats 65-55 at the Show Me Center.

But the Indians needed to regain the lead in the second half after the Bobcats had staged a big rally.

"I thought this would be a tough game," said Burk, whose squad improved to 7-3. "Delta scraps for 32 minutes. They play great defense. Their kids play really hard and they're really well-coached."

Said Delta coach Nate Crowden, after his squad fell to 8-3 with a sixth-place finish in the 16-team tournament:

"We just couldn't get over the hump. Of course, Jackson had a lot to do with it. They've got a good team. But we worked hard and we had our chances."

Jeff Walter scored 16 points to pace the Indians, who also got 10 points from Justin Keen. Brandon Blattel contributed nine points while Justin Suedemeyer and Doug Cary both had eight.

Delta's scoring was not nearly as balanced as two players combined for 42 points. Garrett DeBrock, one of the area's top players for any class, led all scorers with 24 points while Shawn Kinder added 18.

The Indians led for most of the first quarter before Delta pulled into a 13-13 tie. Jackson then scored the final five points of the period to go ahead 18-13.

It was 18-16 early in the second period when the Indians threatened to blow things open. Blattel hit a 3-pointer, Keen scored on the break and Walter got a conventional 3-point play inside as Jackson opened up a 26-16 lead.

But Delta stormed back behind DeBrock, whose five quick points pulled the Bobcats to within 28-27. With just over a minute left in the half, Kinder's 12-footer tied the contest at 29-all.

Jackson scored the final three points of the first half to lead 32-29 at the break.

Delta again surged to start the second half as the Bobcats went ahead 39-36. But an 11-0 Jackson run put the Indians back on top 47-39. They would not trail again, although things were far from over.

Trailing 47-42 after three quarters, Delta pulled to within 49-48 with 5:20 left on DeBrock's two free throws.

Walter and Cory Daniel came back with inside baskets as the Indians opened up a 53-48 lead and Delta never got closer than four points again. Jackson was able to stretch out its lead at the end to win going away.

While Burk and Crowden both felt their teams could have perhaps done better in the tournament, they also each came away fairly satisfied.

"We were disappointed to lose in the second round (51-46 to Cape Central), but Cape deserved to beat us," Burk said. "But we came back and showed a lot of character."

Said Crowden, whose team lost in overtime to Scott City in the second round and has stamped itself as perhaps the area's Class 1A team to beat:

"We became a better team in this tournament. We played some good competition and that's going to help us later in the year. But we could have played better. We didn't put a complete tournament together."