Jackson boys basketball team defeats Poplar Bluff 73-63

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Josh Daume and the Jackson Indians held off a furious second-half rally Tuesday night to remain unbeaten in SEMO Conference play.

Daume hit all eight of his free throws in the final minute, finishing with 31 points, as the Indians beat Poplar Bluff 73-63.

"You got to get the ball up the floor and you've got to get into your offense. That's what he's given us," Jackson coach Darrin Scott said of Daume.

Jackson (14-2, 2-0 SEMO) never trailed after an 11-2 run midway through the first quarter.

Poplar Bluff (8-5, 0-1) trailed by as many as 15 midway through the third but rallied to within three on two separate occasions in the fourth quarter.

"They're good," Mules coach Will Durden said. "They're big and they're skilled. You've got to play a perfect game against them to win it."

Poplar Bluff shot just 29 percent from the field in the first half, missing numerous shots around the basket, while Jackson got four of its six blocks from Brandon Lueders, who chipped in eight points and six rebounds.

Blake Reynolds had 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Karson King added 15 points for the Indians, who led 33-22 at halftime.

"I thought this was the best our bigs have done posting hard, getting good position and being aggressive to the basket," Scott said. "I was really pleased with that."

Poplar Bluff's 6-foot-7 senior Stacy Gipson fouled out with a team-high 16 points at the 4:40 mark of the fourth quarter.

Patrick Tillman scored 10 points off the bench for the Mules, while Joseph Eyler added nine points and leading scorer Chris Stocks scored seven.

"We did get some chances," Durden said. "When you get down 15 it's tough to make a comeback."

The Mules nearly did.

Jackson led 47-32 following Daume's drive through the middle with 4:31 left in the third quarter.

Poplar Bluff cut it to 53-43 by the start of the fourth and were within three just 1 minute, 48 seconds later.

Consecutive 3-pointers by Brandon Stuckenschneider and Tillman cut Jackson's lead to 57-54 with 6:12 to play. Poplar Bluff missed two free throws with a chance to get closer and Calvin Lysell scored for the Indians.

Reynolds hit two free throws for a seven-point lead with 4:40 left, but a three-point play by Eyler followed by a free throw from Tillman again made it a three-point game.

With a chance to get closer, the Mules turned it over when Braden Wendel got a steal and Lueders' tipin on the other end put Jackson up 63-58 with 2:10 to play.

"We didn't force a whole lot of turnovers because our pressure wasn't very good," Durden said.

Poplar Bluff, which was 10 of 14 at the line, missed a free throw that could have cut the deficit to less than four points and couldn't convert a steal by Shannon Woods into points.

King sank two free throws and Daume followed with a pair of free throws to close out the win.

Jackson finished 29 of 32 from the line, including 16 of 16 by Daume. The senior scored 13 in the first meeting between the two teams, a 55-50 Jackson win to open the SEMO Conference Tournament.

"He's a really good ballplayer," Durden said. "He just put his head down, beat us to the basket."

Jackson outrebounded Poplar Bluff 39-25, but each team scored 12 second-chance points.

Jackson 17 16 20 20 -- 73

Poplar Bluff 8 14 21 20 -- 63

JACKSON (73) -- Josh Daume 31, Calvin Lysell 2, Karson King 15, Connor Shepard 2, Blake Reynolds 15, Brandon Lueders 8. FG 16, FT 29-32, F 16. (3-pointers: Daume 3, Reynolds 1. Fouled out: None)

POPLAR BLUFF (63) -- Joseph Eyler 9, Malik Metcalf 7, Patrick Tillman 10, Ryan Brittingham 5, Stacy Gipson 16, Brandon Stuckenschneider 3, Chris Stocks 7, Shannon Woods 6. FG 22, FT 10-14, F 19. (3-pointers: Tillman 1, Brittingham 1, Stuckenschneider 1. Fouled out: Gipson)

JV -- Poplar Bluff won 37-36