Crowd disappoints event organizers

~ The Pepsi Showcase drew 2,573 fans for the seven games.

Jackson boys basketball coach Darrin Scott and Show Me Center tournament director David Ross were in the same boat Saturday night at the conclusion of the inaugural Pepsi Showcase.

Both had learned some lessons they hope to apply in the future.

Scott's Indians, who entered the week state-ranked, suffered their second straight loss, and this one was downright ugly. Jackson fell 72-51 to Webster Groves in the event's nightcap.

Jackson (6-4) needed a 13-2 rally over the game's final minutes to make it that close.

The rest of the games were pretty competitive, making that part of the Pepsi Showcase -- a seven-game, 12-hour high school basketball event -- successful.

The crowd for the day totaled 2,573, which was fewer fans than Ross had hoped.

"There are some growing pains, and we have to do a little better job promoting the event so that people in the community know what they can come out here and see," Ross said. "The competition was very good.

"It's live and learn. We have to figure out what lessons we learned, and we're going to do it again next year."

Ross acknowledged the event was in competition with holiday shopping as well as other basketball events played around the same time on the schedule.

Players and coaches seemed to be pleased with the event experience, which included a postgame buffet for each team.

"All the coaches said it's a great environment," Ross said.

Memphis White Station assistant coach Paul Ross, whose team beat McCluer North on Saturday, is in his third season with one of the nation's well-known high school programs. The team this year has played in Marshall County, Ky., and Forrest City, Ark., and will travel to Charleston, S.C., after Christmas and Minneapolis later this year. It played in Hawaii last year.

"This was a good concept here," he said. "It just takes some time to grow it."

Scott and his team may not have enjoyed the treatment of being paired with Webster Groves (7-1), the No. 3 team in Class 5 in the latest state poll.

With 6 foot 6 Spencer Goodman out after being ejected for committing a flagrant foul in Jackson's 57-46 loss at Wentzville Holt on Thursday, the Indians had a difficult time matching up with Webster Groves' front line.

"I'm sure that took them out of kilter," Webster Groves coach Jay Blossom said. "I was worried about their size, and we outrebounded them 17-2 on the offensive boards."

"When you play a team that good," Scott said, "any advantage you can have is going to help you."

Focusing on stopping 6-5 Hunter Grantham down low and with Belmont-bound guard Drew Hanlen defending Jackson sharpshooter Jake Leet, the Statesmen were able to jump on top 22-12 after one period and 43-22 by halftime.

"In the first quarter, I didn't think we were rebounding very well," said Scott, who called a timeout late in the period and was animated in the team's huddle on the court.

"In the first half, I thought their effort was better than ours," Scott said. "In the second half, I thought our effort was really good. We had a lot more positives in the second half. I challenged the kids and told them I wanted to see more hustle plays, more smart plays and more unselfish plays, and in the second half, we had a lot more of those."

Grantham, who recently returned from a concussion, was kept off the scoreboard in the first half and scored 10 points in the second half.

Leet led all scorers with 23 points, including three 3-pointers. He scored 14 in the second half.

"He was aggressive tonight," Scott said. "That's not just about scoring; it's about creating offense, making passes, having assists and being hard to guard."

Mike Whittier and 6-6 Zach Redel each scored 16 points to lead Webster Groves. Hanlen added 13, Derrick Dilworth had 10 and 6-4 Vinnie Raimondo added nine.

Webster Groves brought in its reserves after Hanlen's three free throws and Raimondo's back-to-back baskets made up a seven-point run for a 70-38 lead.

Said Scott at the end of the night: "We'll get better."

WEBSTER GROVES 72, JACKSON 51

Webster Groves 22 21 18 11 -- 72

Jackson 12 10 10 19 -- 51

Webster Groves (72) -- Mike Whittier 16, Derrick Dilworth 10, Drew Hanlen 13, Jason Meehan 4, Jonathan Bowie 4, Vinnie Raimondo 9, Zach Redel 16. FG 26. FT 17-20. F 17. (3-pointers: Whittier 1, Dilworth 1, Raimondo 1. Fouled out: none)

Jackson (51) -- Caleb Guilliams 2, Kyle Keith 5, Matt Lang 7, Jake Leet 23, Aaron Floyd 3, Hunter Grantham 10, Antonio Garritano 1. FG 19. FT 8-14. F 16. (3-pointers: Leet 3, Keith 1, Lang 1. Fouled out: none)