CBC ends season for Jackson boys basketball team in Class 5 quarterfinals

~ The Indians fell in the Class 5 quarterfinals for the second straight year

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- Jackson junior Blake Reynolds tied his team's Class 5 state quarterfinal against CBC by scoring inside with 4 minutes, 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Reynolds equalizing basket came just about a minute after CBC standout and Texas recruit Jordan Barnett picked up his third foul. Barnett didn't immediately leave the game, but the foul forced him to the bench for much of the rest of the quarter.

Without the help of their star, the Cadets went on an 8-0 run to propel them to a 75-66 victory Saturday afternoon at Lindenwood University.

"Really the key to the game was when Barnett got his fouls and went to the bench -- they had a smaller lineup," Jackson coach Darrin Scott said. "We wanted to try to get the ball inside to attack the basket. They did a good job defensively. I think they got [turnovers] -- I don't know, I don't remember -- but it seemed like they got two or three."

Jackson’s Brandon Lueders tries to shoot against CBC’s Jordan Barnett (33) during the second quarter of the Class 5 quarterfinal Saturday in St. Charles, Mo. Barnett, who has signed to play college basketball at the University of Texas, and the Cadets won 75-66. (Fred Lynch)

CBC got two turnovers during the 8-0 run and six in the pivotal third quarter. Jackson never trailed by fewer than eight points after the run.

Barnett finished with a game-high 21 points and seven rebounds to help his team reach the final four.

"I'll be honest. I don't think he beat us today," Scott said. "I think it was the rest of the team that beat us. If he'd put up 40-something, that would have been a different number, but I think you've got to give credit to -- [Christian Willis] rebounded so well. I don't know how many offensive rebounds he got."

Willis finished with 16 points and six rebounds for the Cadets, while sophomore point guard Jordan Barnes had 13 points.

Jackson trailed 15-13 after senior Karson King, who had missed his first five shots, made a contested layup and an off-balanced 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded at the end of the first.

"Let's go. Let's fight with them," said King about his thoughts as he fist-pumped on his way back to the bench. "They're obviously athletic -- they've got one going to Texas, they've got a sophomore point guard that's getting looked at by a bunch of good schools. I mean, let's win. We wouldn't probably beat them more than half [of the times we play them]. But, hey, today's our day. That's what I was thinking after that, but we came up a little short."

The Cadets scored the first seven points of the second quarter to open up an nine-point lead, but Jackson replied with seven of the next nine points and eventually took a 30-28 lead on King's 3-point make with just over a minute left in the half.

"I thought that was huge. We had momentum going," Scott said about King's baskets to end the first. "In that second quarter we played really well. We were attacking the basket, got the ball inside and then defensively we switched up and were getting some stops."

Another score from King inside the arc was sandwiched between a Barnett offensive rebound and putback and a Barnett 3-pointer, which gave CBC a 34-32 lead at halftime.

"I thought we did a good job," Jackson senior point guard Josh Daume said of guarding Barnett. "He's going to score however many he's going to score. It's just hard to stop a player like that, but also we had a few turnovers that we probably shouldn't have had -- just some unforced plays that were our fault. We could have played better, I thought."

The Indians turned the ball over three of its first four possessions of the third quarter, although they led to just one point for the Cadets.

Most of the turnovers came as the Indians ran their halfcourt offense, rather than as a result of pressure defense.

"They did a good job of keeping their hands up, and I think we just telegraphed a few passes," Daume said. "We weren't pass-faking, and they stayed off. They weren't really pressuring hard. They were just staying off enough to where they could get to the passes."

CBC led 52-44 entering the fourth and started the period on an 8-2 run that gave the Cadets their largest lead, 60-46, with 6:16 left in the game.

The final points in that stretch came on an easy layup for Willis in transition, something the Cadets did more frequently as the game progressed.

"I think we lost a little focus. ... As the game wore on and they got that lead I thought we tried to hit the offensive glass harder, and then our transition defense lapsed from that," Scott said. "At halftime one of our points was we felt like we needed to get some offensive stick-backs. I thought we did a better job of crashing, and then the downside was a couple times we didn't get it. And some of those were steals. They do a good job [going from] defense to offense."

The Indians cut the lead to 70-62 on a King 3-pointer with 1:30 left but ran out of time for a comeback.

"I was proud of the fact in this game when you're down 12 with two minutes to go, a minute thirty, you can kind of think the games out of reach, but they kept playing, kept battling, kept fighting," Scott said. "And CBC's a really good team. They're athletic, they guarded us really well today."

Scott said the first thing he did following the loss was thank his seniors, including King, Daume, Brandon Lueders, Calvin Lysell, Josh Friess and Blake Reimann.

"The biggest thing was I thanked them for what they've done. I've know this bunch since they were in fifth and sixth grade playing -- just thanks for the things they've done. Back-to-back sectional champs -- that's the first time a team from Jackson's done that. You know, all the time and effort they put in getting to this point."

King, a three-year varsity starter, finished with 20 points and eight rebounds in his final game. Daume added 16 points and Reynolds had 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Scott said the players addressed each other after the game, and the theme was mostly the game. He noted the wins and the back-to-back state quarterfinal appearances were important, but the family-like connection of the team members and "how they build each other up" was what made the group special.

"The biggest thing I said is that basketball, it's just a game," Daume said about his message to the underclassmen. "I do take it very seriously, and I love it, but I also told them not to turn it into a job. It's supposed to be fun, and I had fun all my years of playing basketball. Hopefully I can continue it for another four, but I just told them to enjoy it and also work hard in school because basketball is just a game."

Jackson 13 19 12 22 -- 66

CBC 15 19 18 23 -- 75

JACKSON (66) -- Josh Daume 16, Braden Wendel 4, Karson King 20, Blake Reynolds 13, Brandon Lueders 7, Calvin Lysell 6. FG 20, FT 18-21, F 20. (3-pointers: Daume 2, Wendel 1, King 3, Lysell 2. Fouled out: none)

CBC (75) -- Jordan Barnes 13, Tyrus Lockhart 4, Christian Willis 16, Beau Bommarito 11, Jordan Barnett 21, Josh Webster 9, Armon Watts 1. FG 26, FT 19-34, F 18. (3-pointers: Barnes 2, Bommarito 1, Barnett 1. Fouled out: none)