Indians lose giant lead but claim title in Class 5 District 1

~ A 30-point lead dwindled to four points in a 65-57 victory over Hillsboro.

ARNOLD -- The Jackson boys basketball team turned a laugher into a nail-biter Friday night.

The Indians played near flawless ball in the first half of their MSHSAA Class 5 District 1 championship game against Hillsboro at Fox High School.

Jackson held the Hawks scoreless in the first quarter and to just eight points in the first half.

The Indians built a 30-point lead early in the second half but had to hang on for dear life as the Hawks erupted for 49 second-half points.

Jackson's lead was cut to four, but the Indians held on for a 65-57 victory.

The district title is the first for Jackson since the 1997-98 season. The Indians will play Lindbergh on Wednesday at the Farmington Civic Center in the sectional round. The Flyers upset top-seeded Northwest 38-35 in the Class 5 District 2 title game.

"We were so eager to play tonight, and we played so well in the first half," Jackson junior guard Jake Leet said. "I think we thought we had it won at halftime. We need to learn from this and play four quarters from now on and build on what we did in the first half."

Jackson scored 21 points before Hillsboro got on the scoreboard on a 3-pointer by Brandon Glore with 6:10 to play in the second quarter.

Leet had 14 points in the second quarter alone -- six more than the entire Hillsboro team in the first half. The Indians had what seemed like a comfortable 37-8 halftime advantage.

"I was so happy with the effort in the first half, especially on the defensive end," Jackson coach Darrin Scott said. "We were active with our pressure and did a good job of rebounding. We lost some of our defensive intensity in the second half and I knew that their seven seniors were not going to stop playing."

Hillsboro cut what was a 30-point deficit to 61-57 with 41 seconds left. Jackson opened the door with eight missed free throws in the fourth quarter. But the Indians had four offensive rebounds on missed free throws in the final minute to preserve the win.

"At the end, it seemed like we were playing not to lose instead of to win," Scott said. "Fortunately, we built a big enough lead to hang on."

Leet had 25 points to pace the Indians (21-7). Antonio Garritano added 11 and Hunter Grantham had 10.

JACKSON 65, HILLSBORO 57

Hillsboro 0 8 25 25 = 57

Jackson 13 24 14 14 = 65

HILLSBORO (57) -- Brandon Glore 20, Seth Swafford 16, Jeff Foster 6, Adam Ethier 6, Eric Miller 5, Mario Brontoli 4. FG 18 FT 12-19, F 23. (3-pointers: Glore 3, Ethier 2, Swafford 2, Miller 1. Fouled out: Ethier).

JACKSON (65) -- Jake Leet 25, Antonio Garritano 11, Hunter Grantham 10, Spencer Goodman 8, Caleb Guilliams 5, Matt Lang 4, Steve Spradlin 2. FG 24, FT 14-26, F21 (3-pointers: Goodman 1, Leet 1, Guilliams 1. Fouled out: Lang).