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

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

Kole Deck led the charge with 25 points for the Indians with two 3-pointers and 13 free throws.

Brent Dohogne led the Bulldogs with 14 points. Kolton Johnson added 12 points with three baskets from beyond the 3-point line.

The Indians set the tone early with a 5-0 lead to start the game. Three 3-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 3-pointer by Johnson minutes later lowered the deficit to three points, 19-16, with 4:50 left.

Logan Landewee’s mid-range bucket 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 3-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.

Deck and both Thoma’s made baskets from the 3-point line to pace the Indians through the fourth quarter. Jory and Kolton Thoma combined to score 15 points for the Indians.

Johnson led the fourth-quarter rally for the Bulldogs with a pair of 3-pointers, which made it a three-point game at one point (45-42). However, as it was throughout much of the contest, the Bulldogs weren’t able to fully close the gap.

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. 20.