Jackson boys basketball team tops rival Central in rematch of tourney final

The Jackson Indians have established they can win a variety of ways.

They can beat a team with their inside game.

They can torch a team with their deep threats.

And On Tuesday night at rival Central, the Indians (18-3) showed they could hold a talented Tiger (10-9) squad to 13 second-half points.

Jackson took a three-point lead midway through the third quarter and turned it into a 54-37 victory.

Jackson’s Brandon Lueders intercepts a lob pass intended for Central’s Jamal Cox, left, who was left hanging above Karson King, during the first quarter Tuesday at Central High School. (Fred Lynch)

The Indians improved to 2-0 against Central this season, also defeating the Tigers in the championship game of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

"Offensively we just couldn't get it in the hole tonight," Central coach Drew Church said. "There's nights like that, and they had a lot to do with it with big guys inside. Not a great game for us, but they're a good team."

The Tigers appeared to be ready to battle neck-and-neck with the Indians when they used a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 32-29 with 5 minutes, 25 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

The next Central basket didn't come until the first minute of the fourth quarter.

Jackson locked down defensively and managed just enough offense to squeeze the life out of the Tigers.

"Coming into the game, we had our game plan of what we were going to do against those guys, and we did a great job executing against them," Jackson forward Blake Reynolds said. "Making sure they didn't get good looks, and if they were going to score, it was going to be over the top of us."

The Indians ended the third quarter on a 7-0 run and took a comfortable 39-29 lead into the final eight minutes.

Central managed to cut the lead to 40-33 on a Jamal Cox basket inside, but the Tigers never managed to get closer than seven the remainder of the game.

"We made some plays when we had to down the stretch," Jackson coach Darrin Scott said.

A big part of the Indians' second half success was due to 6-foot-8 center Brandon Lueders.

The senior post was a force on defense, protecting the rim and depositing two offensive rebounds to help the Indians pull away.

"Just staying active on offense," Lueders said. "A lot of people sometimes forget to block out, so staying active can sometimes get you some scrap points that will help you win the game."

Lueders finished with just six points -- four in the fourth quarter -- but his defense had the biggest impact.

"Second half especially he was big," Scott said. "He made some big plays, some big blocks, contested shots. He got two big stick backs on offense."

Jackson pounced to a 10-3 lead to start the game behind some strong outside shooting from senior guard Josh Daume, who finished with 13 points, and the inside play of the 6-foot-7 Reynolds, who scored a team-high 15 points.

Central quickly managed to cut the lead to 15-13 after the opening eight minutes.

Reynolds, a junior, was a thorn in the Tigers' side all night.

The big man's first basket was a banked 3-pointer from the top of the key before he settled into his spot on the post.

"Early, I did get some pretty good rolls around the basket and on that first 3," Reynolds said. "We were really able to finish well around the basket as a team early and that really gave us confidence to move on in the game and to continue getting the ball in the paint because we had confidence we were going to finish around the basket."

Jackson started to make its move in the second quarter with the game tied at 19-19. Reynolds hit back-to-back buckets, junior guard Braden Wendel buried a 3-pointer, and senior forward Karson King added a basket to cap a 9-0 run and give Jackson a 28-19 advantage with a little over two minutes left in the first half.

The Indians made it a point of emphasis to speed up the Tigers.

Central attempted to slow the pace of the game, and did so quite effectively, but the Indians managed to speed up the game in spurts.

"That was one of our points is on rebounds make sure we got outlets and pushed and got up," Scott said.

The Tigers cut the deficit to 30-24 by halftime and fell behind 32-24 before using their 5-0 run in the third to make it a three-point game.

Cox, a 6-7 senior, managed a game-high 20 points for Central.

Junior Andre Statam, an offensive force for the Tigers, was held to just nine points.

The junior was harassed into difficult shots all night, a main reason why the Tigers struggled offensively.

"One thing about tonight, every shot we took was hard," Church said. "They made every shot hard. Whether it was a three or a layup, every shot was contested because of their length and every shot was hard. Fourth quarter I thought we got a little tired. We're not as deep as they are and they're good at beating you in spots."

Jackson 15 15 9 15 -- 54

Central 13 11 5 8 -- 37

JACKSON (54) -- Josh Daume 13, Braden Wendel 7, Calvin Lysell 5, Karson King 7, Connor Shepard 1, Blake Reynolds 15, Brandon Lueders 6. FG 16, FT 10-13, F 13. (3-pointers: Daume 1, Wendel 1, Lysell 1, Reynolds 1. Fouled out: none)

CENTRAL (37) -- Al Young 6, Jamal Cox 20, Mikey Jones 2, Andre Statam 9. FG 15, FT 4-12, F 13. (3-pointers: Statam 1. Fouled out: none)