CARUTHERSVILLE COMES UP SHORT AGAINST JACKSON 78-39

JACKSON -- Rodney George kept firing, Clintrick Johnson kept battling.

Seemingly oblivious to the scoreboard chronicling the rout, the two sophomores, who scored all but four of the Tigers' points, never ceased.

But this time David was no match for Goliath.

Caruthersville High, vastly overwhelmed from Jeff Walter's resounding, game-opening dunk to the merciful horn 31 minutes later, lost 78-39 Friday night in Jackson's last regular-season game.

While Jackson (19-5) features three starters 6 feet 5 or taller, Caruthersville's tallest player is 6 feet. Upon entering Jackson Gymnasium, the Tigers faced a Brave New World.

"We'd never seen anybody like that," said Caruthersville coach Matt Ruble, whose team is 4-15. "That was by far the biggest team that we've ever faced, and probably one of the most physical. You go down to the Bootheel, there are a lot of shorter, quicker teams. We tried to help out a little bit on the inside, and they shot the lights out."

Free to roam the perimeter, the Indians made 13 of 20 3-point attempts.

"They were packing the inside because they're not that big, and that just gave us the outside shot," said Jackson coach Steve Burk. "We had some kids knock them down. When you do that, it makes your offense look good."

Justin Keen hit four 3-pointers and led five Indians in double figures with 15 points. Doug Carey made four 3s and finished with 12 points, Walter had 11 and Levi Bollinger and Cory Daniel each added 10.

"We had good balance tonight," Burk said. "The nice thing about our post players is that when they get doubled they'll kick it out. I think Walter may have led us in assists tonight. I really feel like he's a complete player. He's very unselfish; he can score, obviously; he's a strong rebounder.

"I thought we played well. That was what we were looking for."

Jackson trailed 7-6 with 2:35 left in the first quarter. Carey then hit three 3s in the last 1:45 of the quarter and the Indians held an 18-10 first-quarter lead.

A jumper by George, who had a game-high 20 points, brought Caruthersville within seven points, 30-23, 3 minutes 45 seconds before halftime. Jackson then ran off the last 14 points of the quarter and led 44-23 at halftime.

Caruthersville's Johnson, 6 feet, faced Walter, a brawny, 6-5 senior, most of the night yet still scored 15 points.

"Our kids played hard the whole game," Ruble said. "You can't ask for any more than that. We've got a young team."

Jackson will meet either Farmington or Sikeston at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in a semifinal game in the Class 4A, District 1 tournament at the Tiger Fieldhouse.

"We've got to play well defensively," Burk said. "We've got to take care of the baskteball. Obviously there's a lot of things that you have to do; but those are the two things that I think are as important as anything."