Jackson boys’ basketball finishes season in fourth place

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Jackson senior Grant Borgfieldunderstood the formula that had staked his team to a lead through three quarters.

“We were feeding the post and preventing them from making threes,” Borgfield said.

But that formula did not extend into the fourth, as the Indians went cold from the field, and Troy rallied late to defeat Jackson 40-32 Saturday in the Class 6, third-place game at the Show-Me-Showdown in Springfield.

Jackson (21-11) placed fourth in Class 6 and earned its first state trophy in boys' basketball since 1934.

“It’s a historic achievement, and even though it wasn’t the outcome we wanted, it was great to spend one last weekend playing basketball with my teammates,” Borgfield said.

The Indians went the first 3 minutes 46 seconds of the game without a point, but when junior Judd Thoma hit a tough runner in the lane, it started a wave. Senior Clayton Ernst made a tough baseline turnaround and junior Blayne Harris drained a contested three-pointer as the Indians produced a seven-point blitz in less than a minute.

After missing their first five shots of the game, the Indians made their next five and led 11-3 after the first quarter.

Jackson not only found a rhythm offensively, but also put the clamps down defensively. Senior Steven Schneider was tasked with guarding Troy senior Charlie Nett, who netted 16 of the 33 points scored by the Trojans in the state semifinal.

The Indians defensive stopper held Nett to five points in the first half.

“I’ve always loved defense. My mentality is always, ‘This guy is not going to score on me,’” Schneider said.

A corner three by Harris, who led Jackson with 12 points, and a breakaway dunk by Thoma put Jackson into the locker room with an 18-12 lead.

A nifty drop step move by Ernst and a thunderous dunk off an inbounds play by junior Gavin Holdman staked Jackson to a six-point advantage, and when Ernst drained an 18-foot jumper to open the fourth quarter, the Indians led 29-21.

But that shot proved to be the final field goal for Jackson.

Ernst went to the bench with his fourth foul at the 6:44 mark, and with Schneider also taking a breather, Troy made its move.

Nett sank a corner three and unleashed a shooting exhibition that included long-range bombs from junior Aiden Vaccaro and sophomore Andrew Moore.

Troy, which had been quiet offensively for seven quarters during the state tournament, outscored Jackson 19-5 in the fourth to claim victory.

“We played really well for three quarters, but in the fourth quarter we couldn’t put the ball in the hole and they hit some shots,” Jackson coach Kory Thoma said.

Despite going 0-2 in Springfield, the Indians pleasantly reflected upon the significance of their weekend.

“Jackson has been to the quarterfinal round numerous times and we finally broke that glass ceiling. Now we’d like to see the program continue to strive,” Thoma said.

Schneider added, “It was an incredible experience and I wouldn’t have wanted to do it with anyone else.”