Jackson marches to victory over ND

By Daniel Winningham ~ Southeast Missourian

Jackson's boys basketball team demonstrated they have several weapons as they handed Notre Dame a 66-45 home loss Friday night.

Senior guard Nick Fiehler led Jackson with 13 points and junior forward Jason Schafer added 12.

"They were more concerned with trying to stop Tyler," said Schafer, referring to 6-foot-3 senior forward Tyler McNeely.

Notre Dame (3-12) came out with strong interior defense, determined to make someone else besides McNeeley beat them. The Indians proved they were more than a one-man show as they led 26-17 at halftime despite just two free throws from McNeely over the first 16 minutes. McNeely finished with eight points.

"They doubled down on Tyler the whole game," Fiehler said. "We had to help out."

Jackson connected on its first three attempts from behind the 3-point line, taking an early 13-7 lead. A 7-0 run midway through the second quarter put the Indians up 24-13, their largest lead of the half. Notre Dame battled back to cut the lead to 24-17, but the Bulldogs would not get any closer the rest of the game.

The Indians (14-3), demonstrating patience on offense in the second half, scored 20 points in both the third and fourth quarters as they pulled away.

Jackson coach Mike Kiehne went to his bench players early in the fourth quarter, letting his subs see significant action. Twelve Jackson players found the scoring column.

"Our guards played well and were aggressive," Kiehne said. "Their penetration was the key to the game. This is a tough place to come in and play. A lot of teams are keying on Tyler. But we had other guys step up for us tonight."

Handling the adversity on the road was nothing new for Jackson.

"We've been used to this the entire year," Fiehler said. "We just had to outlast them."

"We were very focused tonight, especially on defense," Notre Dame coach Darrin Scott said. "Our game plan was effective early on. But you've just got to give Jackson credit. They had other guys step up."