Deck joins 1,000-point club as Jackson cruises past Poplar Bluff 58-47

JACKSON — Kole Deck feels like he is getting better and better as the season — and his decorated high school career — progresses.

The star senior’s confidence level showed Tuesday night when he led Jackson boys’ basketball to a 58-47 win over Poplar Bluff and etched his name in program history after scoring his 1,000th-career point in his home gymnasium.

“It’s a pretty cool thing and I’m glad I was here to do it,” said Deck, who dropped a game-high 28 points on Tuesday. “I've been playing with some of my teammates since first grade, so it's cool I get to hit such a cool milestone my senior year.”

This now marks the third year in a row that Jackson has had a player reach the 1,000-point milestone after Clayton Ernst did it in 2023 and Blayne Harris achieved it last season.

“For my first three years of coaching, to have three 1,000-point scorers is pretty special,” head coach Kory Thoma said. “Cole's a pretty special kid. You can see his competitiveness, and every practice is like that with him too. He’s just a special individual. He knows how to put the ball in the hole and he knows how to compete. And I get that night in, night out, and every practice with him, I promise you.”

Deck scored 17 points in the first half as Jackson (15-2) kept feeding the ball to him down low in the paint before he heated up from beyond the arc. Fellow senior Kolton Thoma added 10 points, while Lee Ivy chipped in with eight.

Poplar Bluff (7-9) struggled to find any rhythm on offense in the final two quarters, as the red-hot Indians extended their notable win streak.

“That's our 11th win in a row,” Deck said. “We’ve got two more home games. Hopefully we can make that 13, but we can't take any days off.”

Jackson had a tricky go in the first quarter with the fired-up Mules.

Poplar Bluff only trailed 17-15 after the first eight minutes behind solid perimeter shooting, including late 3-pointers from Jay Edmundson and Dallas Williams to cap off the quarter.

Then the Indians broke things open.

The 6-foot-6 Deck finished off his monster opening half by scoring the last six points of a 10-0 run behind back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Indians a 30-19 cushion at halftime.

“He's the first one in the gym and he's the last one out of the gym every day,” Thoma said of Deck's work ethic. “So, his drive to be a better basketball player has always been there. He had a great night.”

Jackson kept the engine running in the second half and continued to pour it on Poplar Bluff, as Thoma’s squad stormed on a 7-0 run to open the half. A crowd-roaring slam dunk from Deck and an Ivy 3-pointer highlighted the spurt.

Then, up 37-23 with 4:18 to go in the third quarter, Deck stepped to the foul line and sunk career point No. 1,000, causing the officials to briefly pause the game so he could be greeted by his coaches and teammates for a momentary on-court celebration.

Poplar Bluff got within eight on a Williams 3-pointer late in the third quarter, but never got closer. Williams dropped 16 points and senior Brendan Durden added 12 for Poplar Bluff, which has now lost five in a row.

Jackson will look to stay scorching hot when the Indians host rival Cape Central (10-4) in the season trilogy on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Indians took down the Tigers 50-41 in the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament finals on Dec. 30.

“They're going to be out for blood because we beat them last time,” Deck said. “We’ve just got to lock it in at practice and hopefully get the dub.”

Poplar Bluff will gear up for an out-of-state matchup when the Mules welcome Dyersburg (Tenn.) to town this Saturday at 5 p.m.