Jackson loses debut

~ The Indians encountered a 51-41 loss to New Madrid in the first round of the SEMO Conference Tournament

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Jackson High School boys basketball coach Darrin Scott acknowledged that first-game performances are often ragged.

Scott was hopeful his team could avoid that fate, but the Indians looked every bit like a squad opening its season.

The Indians had plenty of turnovers and scoring droughts during Monday night's 51-41 loss to New Madrid County Central in the first-round of the SEMO Conference Tournament.

"You never know until you get into it," Scott said when asked if he anticipated a sloppy performance. "New Madrid is quick. You have to give them credit for our turnovers."

Cape Girardeau Central, which won its first two games to start the season, also struggled as the seventh-seeded Tigers were crushed by second-seeded Poplar Bluff 66-31.

Jackson, the fifth seed for the eight-team event, and Central both fall into the consolation bracket.

The Indians face eighth-seeded Dexter -- which lost 75-44 to top-seeded Sikeston -- at 7:30 p.m. today. The Tigers play either No. 3 Notre Dame or No. 6 Charleston at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

Notre Dame and Charleston complete the tournament's opening round at 6 p.m. today. The semifinals are set for Thursday

Jackson's Henrie Williams shoots a short jumper Monday against a New Madrid County Central defender during their first-round game in the SEMO Conference Tournament in Sikeston, Mo. (Kit Doyle)

Fourth-seeded NMCC (1-2) saw Jackson score the game's opening basket as senior guard Kyle Keith nailed a 3-pointer.

The Eagles answered with an 11-0 run as the Indians went scoreless for almost six minutes. Jackson fought an uphill battle the rest of the night and never could catch NMCC.

"I thought we could have done better," Keith said. "We played a lot as individuals. We could have done better as a team."

Scott agreed.

"We have to play better offensively, move the ball better," he said. "We tried to do too much individually."

Jackson trailed 15-10 after one quarter and fell behind 23-13 midway through the second period.

The Indians ended the half with a 9-2 burst, capped by Keith's runner in the lane, to make it 25-22 at the break.

NMCC scored the first nine points of the third quarter to go up 34-22, but again Jackson forged a comeback.

Down 38-29 after three quarters and later 46-35, Jackson scored six straight points, the final five by junior forward Zach McDowell to make it 46-41 with 1 minute, 27 seconds left.

The Eagles missed the front end of a one-and-one to give Jackson a chance, but the Indians also missed the front end of a one-and-one. NMCC then scored the final five points.

"I'm happy with our effort in the fourth quarter to fight back," Scott said. "We're going to get better."

McDowell led Jackson with 15 points and Keith added 11.

Senior guard Dontre Jenkins paced NMCC with 17 points. Senior forward Kony Ealy, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound University of Missouri football commit, scored 15 points.

"We had a lot of stupid turnovers, a lot of freaking-out stuff, first-game jitters," Keith said. "I know we'll get better."

Poplar Bluff 66, Central 31

Central (2-1) ran into a buzz saw as Poplar Bluff (3-1) scored the first nine points of the game and never looked back.

The potent Mules, ahead 20-8 after one quarter, scored 17 of the second period's first 18 points to lead 37-9.

It was 44-17 at halftime and 56-31 after three quarters. Poplar Bluff outscored Central 10-0 in a final period that primarily featured a running clock due to a lead of at least 30 points.

Central was led by senior guard Kevin Casasola with 13 points.

Poplar Bluff's Jay Raulston, a smooth 6-6 senior forward, led all scorers with 25 points.

NMCC 51, Jackson 41

Jackson 10 12 7 12 -- 41

NMCC 15 10 13 13 -- 51

JACKSON (41) -- Taylor Williams 2, Kyle Keith 11, Tyler Rhodes 3, Zach McDowell 15, Henrie Williams 8, Bobby Clark 2. FG 14, FT 8-13, F 19. (3-pointers: Keith 2, Rhodes 1, McDowell 2. Fouled out: none)

NMCC (51) -- Dontre Jenkins 17, Lamone Nelson 9, Keith Holmes 2, Jamareia Jones 2, G'Darius Anderson 4, Kony Ealy 15, William Bledsoe 2. FG 21, FT 7-14, F 12. (3-pointers: Jenkins 2. Fouled out: none)

Poplar Bluff 66, Central 31

Central 8 9 14 0 -- 31

Poplar Bluff 20 24 12 10 -- 66

CENTRAL (31) -- Blake Ozbun 2, Andrew Williams 5, James Lane 4, Terrance Howard 1, Kevin Casasola 13, Zach Boerboom 6. FG 12, FT 5-11, F 9. (3-pointers: Williams 1, Casasola 1. Fouled out: none)

POPLAR BLUFF (66) -- Greg Coble 6, Zach McAnulty 4, Jay Raulston 25, Jordan Marler 7, Nick Shrum 4, Jake White 11, Eljie Johnson 9. FG 27, FT 7-10, F 15. (3-pointers: Raulston 1, Marler 1, White 3. Fouled out: none)