The Jackson Indians finally broke their streak of trading wins and losses back and forth. It lasted a very long ten games, but they got off the schneid this week with a pair of big wins against Seckman and Sikeston. The Tribe steamrolled the Jaguars 72-49 at home on Tuesday before taking to the road Friday night and wiping out the Bulldogs 62-44 in Sikeston.
The Indians came out gunning on Valentines Day, dropping 21 on the Jags in the first quarter and holding them to just 12. Benjamin Tally came out of nowhere with nine points on a big three and a trio of buckets from the paint. Then 18 more points in the second quarter, helped by a pair of threes from Kaedmon Winborne, built Jackson’s lead to 39-25 at the half.
There would be no relenting after the break, as the Indians notched their highest scoring quarter in the third. They drained 22 more and Winborne kept up the hot hand with another three, increasing the lead to 27 heading into the final frame. The bench was able to rack up some minutes in the fourth with such a substantial lead, and Jackson held on with ease for the 72-49 victory.
The offense was really spread out in this one, with nine players contributing points in a concerted team effort. Big man Clayton Ernst led the way with 14 points and just behind him was Winborne, who nailed three from downtown and went a perfect 4-of-4 from the line for 13 points. Tally was the only other player to crack double digits with a cool dozen.
Looking for that elusive consecutive win, the Indians marched into Sikeston on Friday and jumped on the Bulldogs early with a 17-10 first quarter. Blayne Harris hit a pair of threes and Winborne added one as well, as Jackson had their outside shooting game going early. The second quarter was all 17s, as both teams put up that mark, but the Indians kept their lead intact, going into the break up by 10.
The third quarter was where the Tribe would really pull away though. Judd Thoma made a trio of buckets and Harris hit another three, as the Indians put up 18 more and suffocated Sikeston to the tune of a mere three points. That more or less put the game out of reach as Jackson held a 52-30 lead heading into the final eight minutes. They were outscored 14-10 in the fourth, but the comeback attempt by the Bulldogs was futile. The Indians held on for the 62-44 victory.
Thoma led the charge in this one with 15 points on seven buckets. Harris had 13 thanks to his trio of makes from beyond the arc and Ernst and Steven Schneider each had nine to round out the top scorers.
The long-awaited back-to-back victories bumped the Indians record to 17-8 on the season. They have one game remaining before the District Tournament kicks off, as Jackson will host Webster Groves on Tuesday in the regular season finale.
