SCOTT CITY HOLDS OFF JACKSON TO REACH U-HIGH TITLE GAME

When you're only up by eight points and your top scorer fouls out; and when one of your top defenders fouls out with 1:19 left and you're only up by five, that's a sure sign of trouble.

But Scott City Weatherspoon-ed the storm.

The second-seeded Rams held off a late charge by Jackson and knocked off the No. 3 seed Indians 65-63 thanks to three clutch free throws by Ryan Weatherspoon in the final 21 seconds of a University High Christmas Tournament semifinal game Wednesday night.

Scott City (9-1) advanced to the championship game, where it will play No. 5 Advance for a shot to avenge its only loss of the season.

Jackson (5-4), which trailed by as many as 11 points midway through the fourth quarter, chipped away at Scott City's lead, cutting the deficit to 61-59 with 41 seconds remaining on a shot by Lance Bollinger.

Scott City's Ricky Keller made the second of two free throws to put the Rams ahead by three with :33 left.

Jackson then had a chance to tie it with :25 to go, but Brad Hilbert's 3-pointer rimmed out.

Jackson immediately fouled Ryan Weatherspoon, who made one of two free throws.

The Indians quickly cut the lead to 63-61 when Hilbert scored with 11 seconds remaining, but Weatherspoon iced the game with two free throws with :09 to go.

It was the second win for Class 2A Scott City over a Class 4A team in as many nights. The Rams beat Cape Central in a quarterfinal game Tuesday night.

"I'm just so proud of our team to come into this tournament and knock off two 4A teams that are well coached," said Scott City coach Derek McCord. "It was just a great atmosphere and a great basketball game."

Scott City guard Ronald Watson almost single-handedly carried Scott City offensively through the first three quarters. The 6-foot-4 senior scored a season-high 30 points, including six 3-pointers.

"He played well and hit some tough shots," said Jackson coach Steve Burk of Watson. "But I was disappointed that we didn't get out on him quicker. He was a big part of our scouting report. We just didn't get it done. We got hurt on the boards and we need to be more patient on offense."

"We got good ball movement against the zone early and Ronald was able to knock down some shots," McCord said.

But Watson fouled out, forcing Weatherspoon to carry the offensive load late in the game. Weatherspoon scored seven of Scott City's final nine points and ended up with 21 points total.

"They did a good job of getting the ball into Weatherspoon," Burk said. "We battled back; we just couldn't overcome the hole we put ourselves in. They hit enough free throws to win it."

Both teams were brilliant at the foul stripe. Jackson made 24 of its 28 attempts (86 percent), while Scott City, which struggled earlier this year on free throws, made 17 of 22 (78 percent).

Tory Meyr led Jackson with 19 points, including nine in the fourth quarter. Levi and Lance Bollinger each scored 13.

"What a pair of guards they have in Tory and Levi," McCord said. "Tory is really hard to guard because he can take it to the basket and shoot so well."

Both teams started out cold and prone to turnovers.

In the first quarter, Scott City made just three of its 16 shots from the field including 0-for-6 from 3-point range and turned the ball over four times. Jackson, meanwhile, was 3-for-10, 0-for-3 from 3-point range and committed seven turnovers in the first eight minutes. Jackson took a 7-6 lead into the second quarter.

The teams were tied 27-27 at halftime.