Heartbreak at home: Jackson loses nail-biter to Webster Groves in OT

The Jackson Indians were defeated by the Webster Groves Statesmen 69-68 in overtime on Friday at the Jackson High School Event Center.

Indians head coach Kory Thoma said the game was a great learning experience for his team.

“We had several young kids on the floor that needed the time. I'm okay losing a game like this, as hard as my kids played. It shows us that we need to execute better under special circumstances. Get the ball inbounded late in the game and execute it,” Thoma said. “We executed on defense, they have one of the best point guards in the state, if not the best. But my kids competed tonight, they executed the game plan well and we had a chance to win the ballgame in the last couple of seconds.”

Jackson, the 6th ranked team in Class 6, was led by Kole Deck with 36 points. Four-star recruit Scottie Adkinson led the 6th ranked team in Class 5 Statesmen with 30.

In the first quarter, and for most of the game, Deck and Adkinson battled for points. Deck had 10 to Adkinson’s eight in the first and the Indians trailed 17-15.

The Statesmen began the second quarter with a 7-0 run before the Indians responded with a 9-0 run to tie the game at 24-24. The two stars continued to battle and Jackson headed to the locker room down 33-30.

Both Deck and Adkinson slowed down their scoring in the third quarter but the supporting cast of both sides held down the game. The Indians headed to the final frame down 46-44 but with the momentum after a Deck slam.

Jackson built up a 55-51 lead in the fourth quarter before a 10-3 run by the Statesmen gave them a 61-58 lead. Deck played the hero and buried a three-pointer to send the game to overtime with the game tied at 61-61.

Thoma reiterated how impressive his team’s response was when the game got tough for them.

“It was an atypical game for us because they played a lot of five guards. Not only was it five guards that played for them, it was five guards that shot over 40% from the field,” Thoma said. “They’re hard to guard at any time, but we’re super impressed with the balance and the kids stepping up and making plays.”

Both teams began with a layup before Webster Groves built a 67-63 lead. A Kolton Thoma bucket followed by a Deck three-pointer gave the Indians a 68-67 lead with 13 seconds left.

The Statesmen inbounded into a jump ball with the possession arrow pointing to Jackson. Jackson failed to inbound the ball within the five-second mark and Webster Groves took over.

The crowd fell silent as Adkinson went up for a shot, followed by the exasperated groan of the home fans as the shot rolled off the rim and in for the Statesmen win.

Jackson faces a tough stretch of games to finish the regular season, starting with a road trip to New Madrid County Central at 7:30 p.m. on Valentine’s Day.