Jackson defeats Central in the championship game

In front of a near-capacity crowd Tuesday night at the Show Me Center, the Jackson Indians and Central Tigers gave the fans all they could ask for in a thrilling Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament final which saw the Indians pull off a 63-60 win.

Fourth-seeded Jackson (11-1) rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit to extend its winning streak to 11 games and claim its first Christmas Tournament title since 1988. No. 2 Central, making its first Christmas Tournament finals appearance since 1996, fell to 9-3.

"It's probably the greatest thing I've been a part of," Jackson senior center Tyler McNeely said. "Me and the other two seniors talked about how big it would be to win the Christmas tournament in front of this crowd."

The game was a near mirror of Jackson's semifinal upset over top-seeded Charleston on Monday. Jackson scored the first basket, but Central went on a 14-2 run to pull ahead 14-4. McNeely's inside presence kept the score close and Jackson pulled within 14-11 by the end of the quarter.

"The kids did a good job of handling the pressure early," Jackson coach Mike Kiehne said. "We knew Central was going to come out and pressure us."

Another similarity came from the free-throw line, where Central went 11-for-22 and made only 1-of-5 down the stretch. Mitch Craft missed two free throws with less than two minutes remaining with a chance to put the Tigers ahead, and Will Johnson missed the front end of a one-and-one with a chance to tie the score at 62 with six seconds remaining.

"If we made free throws down the stretch it's a different ball game," Central coach Derek McCord said.

While the Tigers' poor free-throw shooting plagued them late in the game, it was Jackson's second-half defense and the offensive play of McNeely and Jack Puisis which doomed Central.

Central dominated much of the first half, leading 36-27 at halftime behind Eli Harris' 16 points. Central remained hot on the offensive end out of halftime. A pair of Scott Chestnutt free throws midway through the quarter pushed the lead to 48-38.

While the Tigers looked like they would pull away in the third quarter, Puisis kept the Indians close. Taking over on offense for McNeely, who had 16 points at halftime, Puisis poured in 12 points in the third quarter, including a deep 3-pointer late in the quarter which helped cut the lead to 52-47.

"Jack Puisis really stepped up in the third quarter," McCord said. "They had to have someone step up in the third quarter and he did."

McNeely hit a 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter and his two free throws less than a minute later tied the score at 52. It was the first tie since 2-2. Jackson's defense got another stop and Puisis hit another 3-pointer to give Jackson a 55-52 lead.

Harris answered for the Tigers with a deep 3-pointer of his own to tie the score at 55-55. After two more ties, Chestnutt gave the Tigers their final lead at 60-59 by hitting a free throw with 2:10 left. McNeely put the Indians up for good with a basket to make the score 61-60.

Jackson's defense held Central to only two fourth-quarter field goals and held Harris to only seven second-half points.

"We just had to make adjustments," Kiehne said of his defense. "We didn't really do anything different; we just played a lot harder."

McNeely led all scorers with 27 points, much of which came while being guarded by Craft.

"I knew it was going to be Craft," McNeely said. "They figured I'd get Scott in foul trouble. I kind of didn't do as good against Craft last year."

Puisis added 24 points for Jackson. He scored 17 of those points in the second half.

"I just do my part, that's all I have to do," Puisis said.

Harris led the Tigers with 23 points and Chestnutt added 19. Central's leading scorer, Ryan Delph, was held to eight points.

"This one hurts," McCord said. "But we know we'll get two more chances at them."

Central 14 22 16 8 -- 60

Jackson 11 16 20 16 -- 63

JACKSON (63) -- Tyler McNeely 27, Brad Eaton 6, Jack Puisis 24, Jason Schafer 1, Ryan Mirly 2, Cody Cardwell 3. FG 22, FT 14-22, F 18 (3-pointers: Puisis 2, McNeely 2, Cardwell 1. Fouled out: Nick Fiehler)

CENTRAL (60) -- Ryan Delph 8, Eli Harris 23, Scott Chestnutt 19, Will Johnson 8, Mitch Craft 2. FG 23, FT 11-22, F 19 (3-pointers: Harris 3. Fouled out: none)

jjoffray@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 171