Indians handle Cubs, keep alive bid for third straight crown

The Jackson boys basketball team put itself in line for a third straight Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament title with an 80-67 win Thursday over No. 3 Bell City at the Show Me Center.

The second-seeded Indians will play No. 5 Notre Dame at 7:30 p.m. tonight in the championship game.

Bell City will face No. 1 Charleston at 6 p.m. in the third-place game.

Jackson (12-1) used its size advantages around the floor to pound the Cubs into submission. The Indians had taller players at basically every position, and exploited that edge on the boards.

"Our emphasis was we've got to outrebound them, that would be the key," Jackson coach Darrin Scott said.

Hunter Grantham, a 6-foot-6 sophomore forward, scored 12 points in the opening half to help carry the load for the Indians. Grantham had 10 of Jackson's 13 points in the second quarter as other parts of the Indians' offense temporarily faltered.

Overall, Grantham finished with 16 points.

"Hunter, what he gives us is when Aaron [Redecker] comes out of the game, we've still got a post threat," Scott said.

When the Indians weren't taking advantage of their size down low, they were letting sophomore Jake Leet take care of things from the outside. Leet had a game-high 25 points, including three 3-pointers.

"He keeps improving," Scott said of Leet. "He went through some struggles at Wentzville and lost some confidence. I talked to him about his strengths, getting to be more aggressive."

The marquee matchup of 6-11 Redecker and 6-9 junior Will Bogan of Bell City (8-2) turned out to be secondary. Redecker finished with 12 points and seven blocks, while Bogan finished with seven points.

Bell City sophomore guard Nick Niemczyk showed some signs of life in the second half. Niemczyk hit four fourth-quarter 3-pointers to keep the score from getting out of hand. He finished with 23 points.

First-year Bell City coach Brian Brandtner said his team still is working on cleaning up phases of its game, and feels Niemczyk will become a bigger part of the offense as the season progresses.

"We don't look enough to get him the ball," Brandtner said. "He's got to get more shots."

Jackson actually looked like it would run away with the game in the opening quarter, jumping out to a 19-3 lead. Bell City actually closed to within 26-24 in the second quarter, and had the deficit within 10 points early in the third before the Indians pulled away.

"Our guys are tough," Brandtner said. "They have a lot of heart. I like the way we play. We came roaring back, and I thought we'd jump in the driver's seat."

Kyle Pridemore added 15 points for the Indians.

Blaine Stewart finished with 11 points for the Cubs.

Jackson 80, Bell City 67

Bell City 12 16 17 22 -- 67

Jackson 24 13 18 25 -- 80

BELL CITY (67) -- Nick Niemczyk 23, Will Bogan 7, Blaine Stewart 11, Phillip Gross 8, Kerry Lasters 7, Marty Dames 7, Jeff Liggins 4. FG 24, FT 13-20, F 21 (3-pointers: Niemczyk 4, Lasters 1, Gross 1. Fouled out: none)

JACKSON (80) -- Jake Leet 25, Hunter Grantham 16, Aaron Redecker 12, Kyle Pridemore 15, Ryan Leet 5, Drue McNeely 5, Spencer Goodman 2. FG 27, FT 21-28, F 17 (3-pointers: J. Leet 3, R. Leet 1, McNeely 1. Fouled out: none)