Jackson outlasts Bulldogs to reach title game

Jackson's streak of three straight Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament finals was extended Friday with an 83-80 win over second-seeded Notre Dame in the semifinals at the Show Me Center.

The third-seeded Indians had lost to the Bulldogs in the championship game of the tournament last year, and also had lost to Notre Dame earlier this month in the third-place game of the SEMO Conference Tournament.

"It's a big deal," Jackson coach Darrin Scott said. "Now what we have to do is get ready for a great Bell City team. They beat a great Charleston team."

Jackson (9-3) will face No. 5 Bell City at 7:30 tonight in the championship game.

For the first time since the opening week of the season, the Indians had a full arsenal of weapons. Spencer Goodman, a 6-foot-7 junior returning starting guard, had been out since the Farmington Invitational due to an injury. Goodman was rusty at times, but his presence was felt on the boards as well as in the scoring column.

Goodman finished with 11 points, scoring five points in the fourth quarter as part of his nine points in the second half.

"It just gives us another guy in the rotation," Scott said. "It actually does give us some depth. At the end of the game, it gives us a player that can throw the ball in against their pressure with confidence and hit free throws. He had some big putbacks at the end which was a big part of the game."

Notre Dame (11-2) jumped out to a 22-9 lead in the opening quarter and appeared on its way to another title bout. Jackson's 3-point shooting helped the Indians erase the entire deficit in a matter of minutes with a 13-0 run. Sophomore guard Marcus Harris and junior Jake Leet each had two 3-pointers in the opening quarter.

The Bulldogs' were able to regain the lead 24-22 to end the first period, but Jackson had picked up the momentum.

Jackson led by as many as five points in the second quarter and did not trail by more than two points the rest of the way.

While the Bulldogs had an answer for many of Jackson's runs, they did little to stop Jackson's offense. The Indians had five players score in double figures, teaming the outside shooting of Leet and Harris with the inside play of 6-6 Hunter Grantham, 6-5 Antonio Garritano and 6-4 Steven Spradlin.

"We've got a good ballclub, and we know what we have to improve on," Notre Dame coach Paul Hale said. "We have to improve our defense. I think the last 4 or 5 minutes of the game, we did."

Those last 4 minutes of the game saw Jackson's lead grow to as many as seven points before Notre Dame narrowed the gap.

Ryan Willen actually put Notre Dame ahead in the opening minutes of the final quarter with consecutive 3-pointers, but Jackson responded with an 8-2 run.

A deep 3-pointer from Harris put Jackson ahead 76-69 after the midway point of the quarter, and Goodman kept the lead at six points late in the quarter with a pair of free throws at 78-72. Notre Dame scored six of the next eight points to cut the lead to 80-78 with 40 seconds left.

Notre Dame had a chance to send the game into overtime after Leet hit one of two free throws with 16 seconds remaining, but Willen fumbled the ball away as he tried to get open for a 3-pointer.

"Blame it on me," Hale said. "We just couldn't get a good shot off. I should have designed something better."

Leet led the Indians with 20 points. Harris, who was thrust into a bigger role this season when Goodman went down, finished with 19 points including five 3-pointers. Garritano added 14 points and Grantham had 11.

"He played with a lot of confidence," Scott said of Harris.

Willen led the Bulldogs with 26 points. Ty Williams and Abe Dirnberger added 17 points apiece.

Notre Dame will face No. 1 Charleston in the third-place game at 6 p.m. tonight.

Jackson 83, Notre Dame 80

Jackson 22 21 17 23 -- 83

Notre Dame 24 18 15 23 -- 80

JACKSON (83) -- Jake Leet 20, Marcus Harris 19, Antonio Garritano 14, Hunter Grantham 11, Steven Spradlin 8, Spencer Goodman 11. FG 32, FT 11-16 (3-pointers: Harris 5, Leet 3. Fouled out: none)

NOTRE DAME (80) -- Ryan Willen 26, Abe Dirnberger 17, Ty Williams 17, Austin Greer 7, Mark Himmelberg 7, John Unterreiner 5, Joseph Tolbert 1. FG 29, FT 19-27 (3-pointers: Williams 1, Willen 2, Himmelberg 1, Unterreiner 1. Fouled out: none)