JACKSON HOLDS OFF NOTRE DAME 61-56

JACKSON -- The Jackson Indians gave Doug Cary a very appropriate get-well-soon gift Friday night.

Jackson (10-4) sorely missed its sharp-shooting guard and leading scorer who was out with the flu, but managed to scrap out a 61-56 win over visiting Notre Dame.

"I have to give our kids credit," Jackson coach Steve Burk said. "When things weren't going well for us, we scrapped and hung around and kept battling."

For the Bulldogs (4-10), it was another game of missed opportunities. Notre Dame continued a recent trend in which it fought back to get within striking distance against a larger school, but didn't make the plays -- or decisions -- needed to win the close game.

"I told them (the players) that we're not going to dwell on the small things that beat us in a game like this," said Notre Dame coach Chris Janet. "But we missed layup after layup during crucial points. You just can't do that in a close game. We had a couple of not-so-wise passes and a couple of not-so-wise shots."

No player scored in double figures for the Bulldogs.

Zach Miller, Mark Rubel and Jonathan Ressel each had nine.

Notre Dame, after trailing by as many as 11 early in the third quarter, finally knotted the game at 47-47 with 6 minutes, 4 seconds left in the game when Miller made the second of two free throws.

Jackson then went on a 11-4 run and led 58-51 with just :53 left.

The Bulldogs, though, cut the lead to 58-56 after a clutch basket by Anthony Ressel and an even bigger 3-pointer by Rubel.

Jackson senior guard Justin Suedmeyer, who was playing with torn ligaments in his shooting hand and still scored a game-high 14 points, missed the second of two free throws with :19 left to give the Bulldogs an opportunity to tie the game.

On Notre Dame's next possession, Miller forced a 3-pointer from the right wing that was long and wide left.

Notre Dame immediately fouled and Tory Meyr made the first of his two free throws to seal the game.

Jackson got good support from its bench. Seven players scored at least five points and none had more than 14.

Harith Jones provided some key baskets down the stretch en route to 13 points and seven rebounds for Jackson.

Levi Bollinger, who usually comes off the bench for the Indians, got the start and provided eight points.

"I thought Bollinger really helped tonight," Burk said. "He added a spark for us when we needed it. And I thought Harith Jones played one of his best games."

Each individual's performance was magnified without Cary lurking around the perimeter.

"It hurt us," Suedmeyer said of playing without his back-court sidekick. "We lost our leading scorer and a tremendous shooter. They could concentrate more on everybody else. We're in a hurry to get Doug back."

Janet, meanwhile, watched his team put forth another gutsy, yet fruitless performance.

"They showed a lot of character tonight," Janet said. "To come into their gym and to play with that type of intensity, I was impressed. I'm very proud of the boys.

"We're disappointed in another loss. But there's a lot of positives we can take from this game. If we keep playing like that, good things will happen."

"Everybody needs to ignore Notre Dame's record," Burk said. "They're a 2A school playing a 4A schedule, at least in the first half of the season."