Jackson defeats Notre Dame to claim third place at SEMO Conference Tournament

SIKESTON—The Jackson Indians rebounded from their semifinal loss on Thursday and tamed the Notre Dame Bulldogs 52-45 to win third place at the SEMO Conference Tournament on Friday, Dec. 13 in Sikeston.

"It was a physical game from the start," Jackson head coach Kory Thoma said. "A big crowd tonight and a great environment, so it was nice to come out on top."

Kole Deck led the charge with 25 points for the Indians with two three-point shots and 13 shots from the free-throw line.

Brent Dohogne led the Bulldogs with 14 points. Kolton Johnson added 12 points with three baskets from beyond the three-point line.

"They're a senior-laden team," Thoma said of the Bulldogs. "Those kids have been around the block."

The Indians set the tone early with a 5-0 lead to start the game. Three three-pointers, including two from Kolton Thoma, paced the Indians in an early 11-3 run to lead 17-11 after the first quarter.

Dohogne opened the second quarter with a mid-range basket to make it a four-point game. A three-point shot by Johnson minutes later lowered the deficit to three points, 19-16 with 4:50 left.

Logan Landewee’s mid-range basket pulled the Bulldogs within a basket (20-18) with 2:30 left in the first half. The point guard finished the game with six points, four of which came from the charity stripe.

A pair of free throws by Deck broke up Notre Dame’s 7-3 run and gave Jackson further separation entering halftime. A three-pointer by Jory Thoma sent both teams into their locker rooms at halftime with the Indians leading 25-20.

A Hudson Dennis layup started the scoring in the second half for the Bulldogs, who spent the entire third quarter playing catch-up with the Indians.

The Indians saw their lead shrink to a single point with 3:08 left in the period but were able to keep a comfortable lead with 10 of their 12 third-quarter points coming from the free-throw line to enter the fourth quarter up 37-33.

"When you hit free throws late, that helps," Thoma said. "17-for-22, I don't think we hit 17 in the first two games combined. So that was big."

Deck and both Thomas made a basket from the three-point line to pace the Indians through the fourth quarter. Jory and Kolton combined to score 15 points for the Indians.

Johnson led the fourth-quarter rally for the Bulldogs with a pair of three-pointers, which made it a three-point game at one point (45-42). However, as it was throughout much of the game, the Bulldogs weren’t able to fully close the gap.

Deck was sent to the charity stripe three times during the fourth quarter and made all six free throws, which made all the difference for a Jackson squad that is still finding their sea legs as a group.

"It's a roller coaster," Thoma said. "You're dealing with 14-17-year-old kids and a lot of pressure with the bright lights on. And to step up to the line, that was crucial. We had a 10-point lead, they got us down to three. For a very inexperienced team that I have, to come out of that and hit those free throws and end the game like that on a decent note, I was impressed with that."

The SEMO Conference Tournament’s third-place game could serve as a preview of the semifinal round of the upcoming Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament. The top-seeded Indians and No. 4-seeded Bulldogs are positioned to potentially play each other should they win their first two games.

Notre Dame will host Caruthersville on Wednesday, Dec. 18, before taking on Delta to start the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

Jackson has a much busier week coming up. The Indians will travel to Dexter on Monday, Dec. 16, and host Festus on Friday, Dec. 19.

Scott City remains undefeated

The Scott City Rams improved to 4-0 with another dominating victory, this time on the road with a 70-39 win over Oran on Friday, Dec. 13.

For the second straight game, Kaiden Lowery led the Rams with 16 points, 12 of which came in the first half. Like Lowery, AJ Hayden did most of his damage in the first half, scoring 10 of his 12 points during the first two quarters.

Kobe Watson added 15 points through the first three quarters of the game to improve his season average to 20 points per game.

Senior Jaylen Rulo and sophomore Braeden Walton each scored 10 points. Rulo scored nine of his points in the third quarter, while the Rams put the game on ice with a 27-5 run.

Cole Diebold led the Eagles with 10 points. Oran will host East Prairie on Tuesday, Dec. 17, as a tune-up before the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

Scott City will host Kelly on Tuesday in what will be a direct preview of the first round of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

Hornbuckle powers Delta's strong start

Delta junior Preston Hornbuckle scored 35 points to power the Bobcats to an 81-73 win over the Braves at Scott County Central on Friday, Dec. 13.

The Bobcats faced a 56-45 deficit entering the fourth quarter. Hornbuckle did most of his damage in the final period by scoring 13 of Delta's 20 points to force overtime with a 65-65 tie. He then scored half of the Bobcats' 16 points in overtime to complete the comeback.

Ryan Jeffries was right behind Hornbuckle with 25 points of his own. As a team, the Bobcats shot 23-of-30 from the free throw line, while the Braves made 6-of-13.

Cortavion Banks led Scott County Central with 26 points, 16 of which came after halftime. Courtney Sanders III scored 18 points while Brandon Bean added 14 points.

With the win, Delta improved to 3-1 with two more games to go before the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament. The Bobcats will host Meadow Heights on Tuesday before traveling to Leopold on Dec. 20.