Jackson boys basketball seniors shine in final home game

Jacob Smith, Garrett Walker and Stephen Irons stepped on the court Friday night for the final home game of their varsity careers, and the Jackson seniors were determined to make the most of it.

They each finished in double figures, as Jackson wrapped up regular-season SEMO Conference action with a 71-52 win over Kennett.

"I've made a lot of memories on this floor here," Smith said. "Coming in knowing it would be our last game here, we wanted to play really hard and make sure we executed everything coach said. For the most part, we did a good job of that.

"We got a good win, and it feels great -- absolutely great."

The two teams met early in the season at the SEMO Conference Tournament when seventh-seeded Kennett stunned second-seeded Jackson in a 66-61 decision.

Kennett coach Jim Vaughan believes Jackson has come a long way since that meeting more than two months ago.

"They've definitely improved throughout the year," Vaughan said. "They handled pressure. They were ball tough a lot better this time around, and they made shots a lot more consistently. They kind of knew where each person was going to be in open areas, so they got good looks."

Smith and Walker led the way with 16 points apiece, trading the spotlight in the first two quarters.

Walker scored seven points in the opening period, including a 3-pointer from the right corner that gave Jackson (14-12, 3-5 SEMO Conference) a 14-2 lead with 3 minutes, 44 seconds remaining in the quarter. Kennett (10-14, 1-6) answered with a 19-6 spurt that ended when Fred Gooden drained a trey from the left corner, giving his team its only lead of the game at 21-20 with 5:11 left before halftime.

Kennett led for 16 seconds, as Smith drove to the basket along the baseline and scored to put Jackson ahead for good at 22-21.

Smith scored nine points in the second period, including a triple from the left key while drawing a foul with 56 seconds left before the break. A free throw by Irons and a fast-break dunk by Smith gave Jackson a 38-29 lead at halftime.

"Probably the biggest thing was when they did take the lead, we didn't have a look of fear in our eyes. We didn't panic," Jackson coach Darrin Scott said. "We kept our poise, which is a big word we've been talking about. We kept playing."

Jacob Friess and Walker each hit a 3-pointer in the opening minutes of the second half to extend Jackson's lead before Kennett countered with an 8-2 run that was capped by a pair of free throws from Jad Kenny, cutting Jackson's lead to single digits, 46-37, with 5:18 remaining in the third quarter.

Jackson closed the quarter on a 12-6 burst, with Irons knocking down a trey from the right key as time expired in the period. Jackson led 58-43 heading into the fourth quarter.

"He's been playing really well," Scott said about Irons, who shot 3 of 6 from beyond the arc. "He's always moved the ball really well and been able to shoot it, but they've just kind of figured out what it takes to win. They're going to have to move the ball and use their teammates."

Irons finished with 12 points, while Jackson sophomore Cameron Hester contributed 13 points, including nine in the second half.

"With him playing well, it's giving our guys a lot more confidence, so now we're looking for him more and throwing it to him," Scott said about Hester. "He was catching some passes earlier in the year where if it was kind of 50/50, he wasn't coming up with it, and in his last two games, he's done a good job of going and getting it."

Jackson shot 24 of 59 (41 percent) from the floor, finishing 8 of 16 (50 percent) from beyond the arc.

Gooden led all scorers with 18 points, including 13 in the first half, while Kenny added 11 points.

"He was able to attack the basket on offense in the first half," Vaughan said about Gooden. "They played some different defenses in the second half, sat in a zone a little bit, spread into a 3-2 a little bit. It made it harder for us to get into the lane."

Kennett closes its regular season with one final conference game Tuesday against visiting Poplar Bluff. Notre Dame will be Kennett's first-round opponent in the Class 4 District 1 tournament, which starts Feb. 29 at Sikeston High School. Kennett picked up a 56-54 win over the Bulldogs earlier this season at home.

"It's nice to go into the district tournament knowing, 'Hey, this is a team we've beaten, so it's either of ours. It's just a matter of who continues to get better and is practicing well,'" Vaughan said. "... The Bluff game is our last home game, so we're really going to challenge our five seniors to be able to go get one more conference game on their floor."

Jackson will now look to put together its first winning streak since winning back-to-back games in the last week of January. Jackson concludes its regular season Tuesday at St. Francis Borgia before beginning the Class 5 District 1 tournament against Seckman on March 1 at Northwest High School in Cedar Hill, Missouri.

"We're just doing so much of a better job of looking, seeing our teammates, moving the basketball, making the extra pass, not forcing things," Scott said. "Early in the year we had a tendency to force shots, especially when things got tight, so hopefully that's something we can build on."

Kennett 12 17 14 9 -- 52

Jackson 16 22 20 13 -- 71

KENNETT (52) -- Fred Gooden 18, Jad Kenny 11, Rantrell Caruthers 8, Edward Wilson 5, Carlos Turner 3, Jahaida Childress 3, Patrick Maddox 2, Ty'reik Thomas 2. FG 19-49, FT 7-13, F 18. (3-pointers: Caruthers 2, Gooden 2, Turner 1, Childress 1, Wilson 1. Fouled out: Caruthers.)

JACKSON (71) -- Garrett Walker 16, Jacob Smith 16, Cameron Hester 13, Stephen Irons 12, Jacob Friess 7, Desmond Morris 5, Grayson Ward 2. FG 24-59, FT 15-18, F 13. (3-pointers: Irons 3, Walker 2, Morris 1, Friess 1, Smith 1. Fouled out: None.)

JV -- Jackson won 46-44