Roundup: Jackson heads into break with statement win

Jackson's Kole Deck drives past a defender during the Indian's December 20 game against Festus.

Photo Courtesy of Carrie Trovillion - Freelance Photographer

The Jackson Indians boys basketball team defeated the Festus Tigers 73-45 on Friday at the Jackson High School Event Center.

Both offenses struggled to find a rhythm early but Jackson did everything else better. Defensively the Indians forced turnovers and pulled down seemingly every rebound to keep the Tigers at bay.

Jackson led 13-6 after one. Indians head coach Kory Thoma said he was pleased with his team's defensive effort both in the first quarter and throughout the game.

“It was the first time in nine games that we executed on both ends of the court. It was fun to watch tonight and to coach,” Thoma said. “Our presence on the defensive end was physical, we didn't even press them and we could be super physical. I'm just really impressed with how we played defense.”

Jackson jumped on the Tigers in the second quarter. Their defense forced turnover after turnover and turned them into easy fast-break points.

Kole Deck exploded for 21 points in the first half to help the Indians build a 37-12 halftime lead. Thoma said having an offensive player the caliber of Deck helps open up the rest of the offense.

“He’s a talented offensive player. He has all three layers, shoots the three, gets the 15-footers and finishes at the rim. It does open up a lot on offense. I think we're learning that, early in the season is where we had problems with that,” Thoma said. “I had a lot of guys competing tonight. I told the team in the locker room that it’s fun to coach this team because on a given night, I got a lot of dudes that can make plays, and they did.”

Jackson seemingly let off the gas a bit defensively as Festus was able to get some offense going but the Indians managed to score enough to maintain the 56-30 lead after three.

Thoma pulled his starters about a minute into the fourth quarter as Jackson cruised to victory.

Jackson has about a week off before the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament begins on the 26th. The Indians are the #1 seed and although most would think it’s an easy road for Jackson, Thoma said they are not taking any opponent lightly.

“We’re going to take one game at a time. We’re going to do our film work, just like we do before every game leading into it,” Thoma said. “Oak Ridge has won their last couple of games. They're getting better, so we're taking those guys seriously. We want to make a statement so we’re not overlooking Oak Ridge, trust me.”

The Indians and Blue Jays will tip off at 9 a.m. on Thursday at the Show Me Center.

Scott City 79, St. Vincent 40

The Scott City Rams continue their undefeated stampede with a 79-40 road win over St. Vincent on Friday in Perryville.

Scott City sophomore Max Snider broke out in a big way with a 26-point performance, all within the first three quarters. Senior Kobe Watson scored 16 points, sophomore Braeden Walton added 13 and senior guard Jaylen Rulo chipped in 10.

The Rams also had 26 assists on 34 made field goals. Scott City had the game in the bag early after a dominating first half led to a 52-14 halftime lead.

St. Vincent was led by Colden Prost, who scored 11 points, and Max Wheeler, who added 10.

Chaffee 73, Scott County Central 33

The Chaffee Red Devils had only one home game in the month of December and they made the most of it with a 73-33 win over Scott County Central on Friday.

The Red Devils were led by Nolan Fowler's 21 points and Rolen Reischman's 20 points. Dane McMullin added 11 points for Chaffee.

The Red Devils jumped out to a 17-5 first quarter lead, later leading to a 35-19 halftime lead. After scoring 27 points in the third quarter, the game was put on ice for Chaffee.

Freshman Corbin Sanders led the Braves with 15 points.