LOCAL TEAMS GET BETTER OF ST. LOUIS IN SHOWCASE

The Tiger Showcase was intended to pair up teams from St. Louis and from Southeast Missouri.

After six games on Saturday, it was Cape County 5, St. Louis 1.

Jackson's boys team was the only local team to lose. However, they played a tough Vianney team which brought in a 10-3 record and has played a tough schedule.

All told, the Cape Central boys and girls won; the Notre Dame girls and boys won and the Jackson girls won.

Perhaps the most surprising win of the day was the Lady Indians' win over Rosary. It wasn't so much that Jackson beat the perennial power, but how easily it did it.

Jackson beat Rosary 60-45 and held several leads of more than 20 points.

"I think this will help out with our confidence," said Jackson coach Ron Cook, whose young team improved to 7-5 on the season. "This team was 10-1 and we had a good lead by halftime. But we can't let complacency set in. We have to keep working. If we can stay away from injuries, we'll be pretty good at the end."

Jackson led 23-8 after the first quarter and led 36-22 at halftime.

Andrea Koeper led the way with 17 points, while Cherish Tillman added 14.

"I thought Cherish had one of her better games of the year," said Cook. "The whole team played aggressively."

For Rosary, 6-2 center Becky Heidotten scored 22 points, almost half of her team's total.

Notre Dame boys 62, John Burroughs 44

Less than 18 hours after suffering a heart-breaking lopsided loss to its arch rival Scott City, Notre Dame (10-6) bounced back in impressive fashion with a fairly easy win.

Chris Dirnberger, who had a rough game shooting on Friday night, had one of his better games of the season. Dirnberger scored 15 points, pulled down seven rebounds, swiped seven steals and dished out four assists.

"We played really well today," said Notre Dame coach Chris Neff. "I told the kids it's not what happens, it's how you react to it. We built that (Scott City) game up for a long time. I think we bounced back and played really well today."

While Dirnberger recovered from a rough game, so did 6-foot-6 sophomore center Doug Schaefer. Schaefer, who got in early-and-often foul trouble and was a non-factor on Friday, scored 12 points and pulled down 11 rebounds.

"Doug Schaefer played really well," Neff said. "His post presence really helped us in this game and his defense allows us to pressure like we want to. He felt like he let his team down (Friday night) and to bounce back the way he did, I can't say enough about him."

Notre Dame, which also got 11 points from Josh Eftink led 12-10 after the first quarter and posted a 29-17 lead at halftime.

Timothy Mack led John Burroughs with 20 points, while no other Bomber scored more than six.

Vianney 69, Jackson 57

In a tightly contested game through three quarters, Vianney was able to pull away in the final period.

The Golden Griffins scored several easy baskets in the final eight minutes.

"We didn't get back well defensively," admitted Jackson coach Steve Burk. "I think we got tired in the second half. Them being a lot bigger than us was a big factor too. We hung around for a long time, but early in the fourth they made a run and got up 10 and we couldn't get back in it."

Jackson dropped to 7-8 on the season, while Vianney improved to 11-3.

Tory Meyr led Jackson with 17 points, followed by Levi Bollinger with 15. Bollinger and Meyr both hit three 3-pointers.

Jeff Suelmann, a 6-foot-4 forward led Vianney with 20 points, while Drew Paradoski added 13.