Indians win at buzzer

Jackson junior Aaron Redecker's smile beamed from ear to ear as the Indians student body lifted him on their shoulders near midcourt following a thrilling 55-53 win over Central on Tuesday night at Jackson.

In front of a packed house in Jackson's final home game, Redecker, Jackson's 6-foot-10 center, tipped in a missed shot from Ryan Mirly with one second left in regulation, sending the Indians to their third win this season over rival Central.

"It's all Mirly with that pass," Redecker said. "It felt like slow motion all the way in."

Redecker's tip put an emphatic end to a strange final minute. Jackson (21-2) got the ball with 58 seconds remaining following a Central turnover. The Indians were forced to take a couple of timeouts as Central (9-13) did a good job blanketing Jack Puisis, Jackson's top scorer.

The Indians called their final timeout with four seconds remaining and the score tied at 53. Coming out of the timeout five seconds were put on the clock. Mirly ended up with the ball near the top of the key and put up a driving shot, which Redecker tipped in for the win.

Jackson coach Darrin Scott said he had hoped to get the ball into Puisis' hands, but told Mirly to give the team an outlet if Puisis was not open.

"Ryan attacked the basket and got a shot off, and if you watch basketball, usually last-second shots don't hurt you -- it's the tip in," Scott said. "Aaron was at the right time, at the right spot and made a play for us."

Central coach Derek McCord said there seemed to be a lot of unusual things happen down the stretch, especially with the extra second added.

"I'm confused at them putting five seconds back on the clock," he said.

The conclusion was a fitting end to a tight game. While the Indians, for the most part, dominated the first two meetings between the teams, Central was ready for Jackson on Tuesday.

Central started the game with a 7-2 run and trailed only 16-12 after one quarter. Jackson pulled out to its biggest lead of the game at 26-17 midway through the second quarter, but a pair of baskets from Darnell Wilks helped pull Central within 26-24 late in the quarter. Jackson clung to a 30-28 lead at halftime.

"I thought we came out with a good game plan tonight, and we executed that game plan," McCord said.

Jackson was plagued by foul trouble in the first half, racking up 12 fouls. Redecker picked up his third foul with three minutes left in the half.

"Foul trouble the first half kept up from getting any rhythm on offense," Scott said. "I thought because we were a little excited, we took some bad shots and didn't get the ball into the post like we should have."

In the third quarter, Jackson led by as many as six points, but a bucket by Central's Eli Harris trimmed the lead to 39-38 late in the period. To Central's chagrin, Harris, who led the Tigers with 16 points, limped off the court with 1:39 remaining in the quarter and never returned.

Already shorthanded -- Central played the entire game without starting point guard Alex Ray -- the Tigers could have folded. Instead, the Tigers tied the score less than two minutes into the fourth quarter and stayed within striking distance the rest of the way.

"If Eli Harris doesn't go down with an injury, I've got to feel down the stretch it's a different outcome," McCord said.

After tying the score at 53 on a 3-pointer from Wilks with 2:10 remaining, Central got the ball back just seconds later with a chance to take the lead. Central was called for traveling, though, giving the ball back to Jackson.

"There have been games we haven't played well, but we've won a lot of close games," Scott said. "These kids have a lot of confidence that if it's a close game, they're going to find a way to win."

Puisis, averaging 21 points heading into Tuesday's game, finished with a game-high 19 points. Mirly added 14, and Redecker finished with 8 points, all coming in the second half.

"We wanted to finish strong at home," Redecker said.

Wilks finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers.

Jackson 55, Central 53

Central 12 16 12 13 -- 53

Jackson 16 14 13 12 -- 55

CENTRAL (53) -- Eli Harris 16, Darnell Wilks 12, David Deisher 5, Jajuan Bell 6, Jared Thomas 6, Anthony Hempstead 4, Garrett Ozbun 4. FG 18, FT 12-19, F 8 (3-pointers: Wilks 2, Bell 2, Harris 1. Fouled out: none)

JACKSON (55) -- Jack Puisis 19, Ryan Mirly 14, Aaron Redecker 8, Cody Cardwell 8, Tyler Beussink 3, Kyle Pridemore 3, . FG 23, FT 3-8, F 18 (3-pointers: Beussink 1, Cardwell 2, Puisis 3. Fouled out: none)

JV: Jackson 48, Central 44