Jackson basketball teams sweep Class 5 District 1 championships

The Jackson boys and girls basketball team's swept the Class 5 District 1 championships on Friday night at Fox High School in Arnold, Missouri.

The girls team defeated No. 3 Northwest 57-27 and the boys team followed that up with a 73-59 win over top-seeded Poplar Bluff.

The Jackson boys squad claimed its third consecutive district title and advanced to face Vianney in a state sectional game at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Jefferson College in Hillsboro, Missouri.

The Indians led 25-12 at the end of the first quarter with help from four 3-pointers from senior guard Braden Wendel, but Jackson was held to just two points in t he second quarter -- a basket by junior guard Garrett Walker with 1 minute, 12 seconds left in the half -- and the Mules cut it to 27-23 at the break.

Jackson never trailed in the game and went up 47-40 heading to the final quarter. The Indians hit 11 of 12 free throws in the final eight minutes to seal the victory.

Senior forward Blake Reynolds finished with a game-high 27 points while Wendel added 21 and Walker had 10.

Poplar Bluff's Chris Stocks finished with 15 points while Malik Metcalf, Patrick Tillman and Abiodun Francis had 10 apiece.

The Jackson girls team won its third district title in four seasons and advanced to face Kirkwood in a state sectional at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday at Jefferson College.

Jackson and Northwest were tied 10-10 after the first quarter, but the Indians held the Lions to just three points in the second and held a 23-13 advantage at halftime.

The Indians scored the first eight points of the second half and led 40-18 heading to the fourth quarter.

Junior guard Autumn Reid led Jackson with 13 points while senior guard Rachel Crites had 12 and sophomore guard Rylee Stafford had 11.

Northwest senior forward Taylor Fortner finished with 11 points.

Check back later for complete stories on both games.