Jackson boys basketball team looks to extend sectional winning streak against SLUH

The Jackson boys basketball team will try to keep its three-year Class 5 sectional winning streak alive tonight against the team that ended its season last year.

The Indians will attempt to avenge an eight-point state quarterfinal loss when it faces Saint Louis University High in a Class 5 sectional at 7:45 p.m. at Jefferson College in Hillsboro, Missouri.

The task won't be easy for Jackson (16-13), which returns just two players that accounted for a total of nine points in last year's 58-50 loss to SLUH.

That in itself is an achievement for the Indians, who saw their leading two scorers from last season -- Blake Reynolds (Yale) and Braden Wendel (Lyon College) -- go on to play at the next level.

"Our kids have worked hard in the offseason to improve," Jackson coach Darrin Scott said. "It's nice for them to see their hard work pay off."

In contrast, the Junior Billikens (18-9) return all but 15 of their 58 points and four starters, including guards Brandon McKissic and Matt Nester.

Nester had 12 points in last year's encounter with the Indians, while McKissic had 11.

"They're really good defensively, and they have a really good point guard," Scott said, referring to Nester. "You really can't get them to turn it over very much. You're going to have to be really good defensively to take away certain things. They've got good guards that attack the basket."

McKissic, now a junior, and Nester, a senior, were SLUH's only players averaging in double-figure scoring last year, and they again hold that distinction.

McKissic averages 15.3 points, while Nester, who shoots 48.6 percent from 3-point range, averages 12.9 ppg, according to stltoday.com.

The twosome also leads the team in other categories, including assists and steals, with each player possessing nearly identical totals -- 4.3 assists and about 1.4 steals per game.

The 6-foot-2 McKissic also is the team's second-leading rebounder, trailing only Brent Smith (4.6 rpg), who's one of two 6-7 junior starters for the Junior Bills -- the other being BJ Wilson.

"He's super quick," Scott said about McKissic. "He can shoot the 3, but he's really dangerous attacking the basket."

Jackson answers the Junior Bills' size with 6-7 sophomore Cameron Hester, who leads the Indians in rebounding with 8.7 boards per game.

"It's just that they've got two kids, and then they bring another 6-5 kid [junior Andrew Grassi] off the bench. So they've got a little bit more depth in the post than we do," Scott said. "But Cameron can match up with them. We just need him to have a good game and stay out of foul trouble."

While SLUH has lost nine games, five have come against teams currently ranked in the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association state poll, including two to top-ranked Chaminade.

Another loss came against No. 3 Webster Groves but was avenged in the District 2 championship game, where the second-seeded Junior Bills made a statement with a 55-39 thumping of the top-seeded Statesmen, who entered Friday's title game with only one loss and a 19-game winning streak.

Scott attended SLUH's 16-point victory against Webster Groves, a team that beat his squad by 24 points earlier in the season.

"They played really well," Scott said about the Junior Bills. "They got up on Webster early, and Webster was tight. And SLUH kind of played off of them. Webster couldn't shoot from the perimeter, and it just kind of kept going. And they kept getting tighter as the game went on.

"SLUH was kind of a bad matchup for Webster because their guards are so good. Webster couldn't get them to go up and down [the floor] and couldn't get them to turn it over. It was just a bad night for Webster."

In reaching its district final, SLUH posted a 19-point semifinal victory over Lindbergh, a team Jackson defeated by 10 points in the championship game of the Lindbergh Tournament on Jan. 9.

Jackson also was a No. 2 seed in its district tournament but secured its fourth consecutive title in more dramatic fashion.

The Indians first avoided an upset to No. 3 seed Seckman in the district semifinals, rallying from a six-point deficit in the final minutes of regulation in a 68-62 win in overtime.

"It helped us get the confidence that we can win a close game," Scott said about the nail-biter. "We kept our composure, which is something we've been battling all year."

The Indians then got a career-high 30 points from senior guard Jacob Smith -- a returning starter and the team's leading scorer on the season at 15.5 ppg -- as they avenged a regular-season loss to top-seeded Poplar Bluff, winning 75-66 in the final.

Hester is second on the team in scoring, averaging 11 ppg, while senior point guard Garrett Walker, the only other returning starter from last year, averages 10 ppg.

The Indians have followed up their three previous district titles with heart-palpitating wins in the sectional round, which were followed by season-ending losses in the quarterfinals.

The three sectional wins have come by a total of eight points -- a 60-59 win over Chaminade in 2013, a 65-60 comeback win over Lafayette (Wildwood) in 2014 and a 59-57 win over Vianney in 2015. The quarterfinal losses came against DeSmet in 2013, eventual state champion CBC in 2014 and SLUH in 2015.

This year, Scott said the Indians have not faced a team like SLUH, which features a combination of size in the post and athletic guards who can both shoot and penetrate.

SLUH demonstrated its well-rounded nature against Webster Groves, which it defeated handily despite just five points from McKissic, who reportedly was slowed by leg cramps. Nester took the lead with 21 points, while senior guard David Jackson added 10 points. Wilson had eight points and athletic 6-2 junior guard David Jackson, the fifth starter, contributed four points and four rebounds.

"We're really going to have to do a good job rebounding, and then they're really good in transition," Scott said. "Some of their guards that don't score as much, when they're out on transition, 2-on-1s and 3-on-2s, they're really athletic and can really get to the basket. Getting back in transition and not letting them get anything easy is going to be big, and rebounding is going to be key for us."

Jackson averages just under 60 points a game on the season, but averaged 71.5 points in district play.

Scott said the Junior Bills will press full-court at times, but their staple is an aggressive half-court man-to-man defense.

"I think we're getting better defensively, but I think offensively, decision-making and just being patient is something we've really had to work at," Scott said. "The Bluff game we did a good job, and it's something that's big. We've got to be patient, but still be aggressive and move the basketball and see the open guy. That's been something we've been improving on.

"If we can keep improving and maybe take another step forward [today], that's what we're going to need to do to have a chance to win."

Tonight's winner fill face either Timberland (20-6) or Ft. Zumwalt North (15-13) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri.