Jackson's hot start buries Notre Dame

Indians senior guard Tyler Rhodes wasted little time letting a large Jackson crowd know what he had felt earlier Friday in front of empty bleachers.

He also was quick to let visiting Notre Dame in on the vibes.

"We came in right after school and started shooting and my shot felt good, and I carried it over," Rhodes said. "I've been hitting them all day."

Rhodes connected on three 3-pointers in the first quarter that helped Jackson to an early 12-point lead, and the Indians protected it for the remainder of the game for a 64-51 victory Friday.

Rhodes tied for team-high scoring honors with fellow senior Bobby Clark, who also finished with 18 points. Rhodes' points all came from behind the 3-point arc. He hit on 6 of 10 attempts.

Notre Dame's Derek Landewee drives toward the basket as Jackson's Brad Clary defends during the first quarter Friday. (Kristin Eberts)

"If it comes and I feel the rhythm, I just let it go," Rhodes said.

Rhodes was letting it fly early, compounding the troubles of a Notre Dame team that entered the night also up against illness. Junior guard Nathan Meystedt, the Bulldogs' top scorer during January, did not play due to a fever, and 6-foot-7 senior Jacob Tolbert just returned to practice Thursday after a five-day bout with bronchitis that still had lingering effects.

Notre Dame took its only lead when sophomore Cody DeBrock hit a 3-pointer from the left side of the key.

DeBrock quickly was trumped by Rhodes, who buried 3-pointers on Jackson's next two possessions that commenced a 15-0 run to close the quarter.

"I guess we saw the opportunity early and we took advantage of it," Clark said. "We got up by 12 in the first quarter and that's really the ballgame when you think about it. We led by about 10 or 12 the whole game."

Jackson's Law Duncan struggles to make a pass around Notre Dame's Jonathan Lynch during the second quarter Friday. Jackson won 64-51.

The run included another trey by Rhodes, and he added a fourth in the second quarter as the Indians extended their lead to 30-16 by halftime.

"Oh my God, Rhodes was on fire all night," Tolbert said. "We just didn't play good enough defense on him. We need to get after it and work harder on defense, for sure."

Jackson coach Darrin Scott said he expected good things out of Rhodes, who did not score in a 28-point loss to Sikeston on Tuesday.

"He shoots the ball a lot," Scott said. "He came in this morning, and during weight class he got some extra shots in, and after school he shot some more. He works hard on his shot. If he has a bad night, there's a good chance the next game he's going to come out and shoot it well. And tonight I thought he was ready to shoot it. He caught, shot it in rhythm and knocked it down. That was big."

Jackson also kept Tolbert under wraps, collapsing on him when he touched the ball down low.

Notre Dame's Jacob Tolbert looks to the hoop through the arms of Jackson's Zach McDowell, Brad Clary and John Meyer, clockwise from left, during the first quarter of a game on Friday, Jan. 28, 2011, in Jackson, Mo. Jackson won 64-51. (Kristin Eberts)

Despite the Bulldogs' effort to get the ball inside to their big man, Tolbert didn't score his first points until depositing an offensive rebound with 34 seconds left in the first half.

"You have to give them credit," Notre Dame coach Kevin Roberts said. "They guarded real well. They helped on Jacob and forced other people to make shots, and they didn't."

Notre Dame shot 30 percent for the game, repeatedly misfiring from the outside.

Roberts said the Bulldogs have lacked the ability to shoot much of the season.

"We need to work harder, so when that shot comes, we knock it down," Roberts said. "Like the Rhodes boy, every time he got a 3, it was going in. I'm not afraid of any of our guys knocking down shots consistently if I'm the other coach, except [Alex] Beussink. He's really playing well."

Beussink hit three of Notre Dame's six 3-pointers and finished with 16 points.

Tolbert scored 15 of his team-high 17 points in the second half.

Tolbert, who had nine points in a 46-40 loss to Jackson earlier this season, said he was well below 100 percent.

"I thought it showed out there tonight, especially the first half," Tolbert said. "I had a rough time getting things going. I just didn't find my groove and didn't have any energy. The second half I just came out and tried to do my best."

Rhodes hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the third quarter that pushed Jackson's lead to a game-high 18 points at 40-22 with 3:47 left in the period. The Indians took a 43-29 lead into the fourth quarter.

Notre Dame trimmed the lead below 10 points for the first time since the first quarter when Beussink scored on a three-point play with 1:25 remaining to cut it to 57-48, but the Bulldogs got no closer.

Notre Dame 3 13 13 22 -- 51

Jackson 15 15 13 21 -- 64

NOTRE DAME (51) -- Derek Landewee 1, Jonathan Lynch 5, Jordan Reddin 1, Joseph Siebert 2, Alex Beussink 16, Jacob Tolbert 17, Cody Heisserer 2, Eric Hayes 1, Cody DeBrock 6. FG 15, FT 15-21, F 15. (3-pointers: Beussink 3, Tolbert 1, DeBrock 2. Fouled out: none)

JACKSON (64) -- Caleb Newcomer 2, Tyler Rhodes 18, Zach McDowell 16, Bobby Clark 18, Brad Clary 8, John Meyer 2. FG 20, FT 18-23, F 13. (3-pointers: Rhodes 6. Fouled out: none)

JV -- Notre Dame won 52-44