Jackson reaches final at Sikeston

~ Indians squeak past the host 74-69 in overtime.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The Jackson Indians looked overpowered against Sikeston in the first half Thursday, heading into the locker room down by 12.

The Indians didn't just have to worry about stopping the Bulldogs' 6-foot-6 junior Michael Porter, who poured in 16 points before halftime.

They also had to contend with a rowdy home crowd, which was especially fueled by both Porter, and 6-1 senior Brandon Washington's strong and fancy first-half slam dunk.

However, Jackson's Jake Leet said he and his teammates were not worried.

"We had no doubt we were coming back," he said. "We came back against Cape on Friday night in the Farmington tournament, and we didn't doubt ourselves at all."

Leet led the Indians' second-half run. He netted 11 points, including two 3-pointers, to help his team force overtime. In overtime, Leet added six more points as he and Jackson slipped past Sikeston 74-69 to earn a berth in the finals of the SEMO Conference tournament. The Indians will face Charleston today for the title.

Leet scored crucial baskets down the stretch, knocking down a 3-pointer with about 6 minutes, 25 seconds remaining in regulation to bring his team within one at 49-48. It was the closest the Indians had come to the Bulldogs all night.

Leet was also strong in overtime. He grabbed the rebound of his own missed shot and tossed it back to put his team up 63-61. He also scored a 3-pointer with the score tied 63-63 to give the Indians the lead for good.

"He doesn't miss [in the clutch]," Indians senior Spencer Goodman said of Leet. "He's done that his whole career. We've played together since about fourth grade, and every time he knows how to knock it down."

Leet finished with 20 points.

"Oh man, that dude is good," Porter said of Leet. "I didn't think he could hit them [3-pointers] under pressure, but he can hit them."

Leet said coach Darrin Scott reinforced strong defense to his players when they trailed by 12 points at the break.

"He told us we had to get up on defense," Leet said. "They kept beating us in transition, and that we had to play at our pace. They were making us go too quick, and we just had to slow down."

Offensively, the Bulldogs were lobbing the ball to Porter by the basket during most of the first half. The Indians' defense prevented this in the second as he was held scoreless in the third quarter and had just six points in the fourth.

"We just tried to help off of him, and whenever they did the lob, help off of that," Leet said.

Porter said his team just could not maintain its early momentum and stop Leet.

"We just didn't adjust on Leet," Porter said. "He was hot and we didn't adjust to it."