Indians win streak reaches 8 with win over Farmington

Jackson's Kole Deck tries to rebound a shot over Farmington's Ryder Gollaher during the Jan. 4 game between the Indians and Knights.

Photo Courtesy of Carrie Trovillion - Freelance Photographer

The Jackson Indians boys basketball team defeated the Farmington Knights 54-48 on Saturday at the Jackson High School Event Center.

Led by freshman “Big Bad Jon” Ernst with 14 points and Kole Deck with 10, the Indians were able to knock off the Class 5 sixth-ranked Knights.

Jackson started slow, at one point down 16-4. Head coach Kory Thoma used two timeouts in the first quarter, and the Indians trailed 17-10 after one.

“We were flat coming out in the JV game. My JV team has never played like that this year. So I challenged the guys before the game, and we came out the exact same way. I was willing to burn all five timeouts in the first half just to get them where I needed to get them,” Thoma said. “Once we started attacking and we saw the ball go in the hoop, we played better from that point. We looked like we were starstruck against a team that was 10-0 and state-ranked. They are a good team, Coach Callahan does a great job, so we are happy to defend our home court today.”

Jackson won the second quarter 18-12 and trailed by just one point going into halftime. The teams traded the lead throughout the third and entered the final frame tied up at 33.

More basket trading ensued before a clutch three-pointer by Jory Thoma put the Indians up three inside a minute and a half to go.

Farmington had no choice but to start fouling and Jackson made six straight free throws to put the game away.

“That’s a sophomore that stepped up, Jory stepped up to put us ahead, and then we buried six free throws in a row. That's what championship teams do and I expect that going forward,” Thoma said.

Looking ahead, the Jackson Indians will head down south to take on the Indians from Kennett on Friday at 7:30 p.m.