Jackson boys basketball team rallies late, beats Seckman in OT to reach district final

The Jackson boys basketball team overcame a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime and went on to defeat Seckman 68-62 in the semifinals of the Class 5 District 1 tournament Thursday in Cedar Hill, Missouri.

The second-seeded Indians improved to 15-13 and will face top-seeded Poplar Bluff (17-9) in Thursday's 7:30 p.m. final.

Jackson, which trailed 61-55 with less than two minutes remaining, scored the final six points of regulation to pull even and misfired on a 3-pointer at the buzzer to win.

Senior guard Jacob Smith led the Indians with 27 points, while Cameron Hester netted 12, including six in the fourth quarter.

Hester, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, picked up his fourth foul in the opening three minutes of the second half and sat out until the start of the fourth quarter. He started the game-tying run with his third field goal of the period. Senior point guard Garrett Walker pulled the Indians to within 61-59 when he sank a pair of free throws, and Jackson's full-court pressure forced a turnover on the Jaguars' ensuing possession, resulting in a fastbreak basket by Smith with about 40 seconds remaining. Smith was fouled on the play and missed the free throw, but Jackson controlled the rebound and ran off the remaining time before Walker missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Jackson scored the first five points of overtime. Sophomore forward Pete Lake gave Jackson the lead for good when he scored his first basket of the game with 2:20 left in overtime. Smith added a basket with about 1:30 left in the overtime period, and Lake, who had three rebounds in overtime, capped the 5-0 run with a free throw with :50 left. Brandon Hurley, who finished with a team-high 22 points, then sank a free throw for Seckman's lone point of overtime before Smith closed out the scoring with a pair of free throws.

The Indians led 18-16 after one quarter, but Seckman opened the second period with a 6-2 burst, taking its first lead of the game, 22-20, on a basket by Matt Kramer a couple minutes in.

Seckman maintained a 36-32 lead into halftime.

Jackson opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers by Stephen Irons and Walker to take a 38-37 lead. With the score tied at 40-40, Hurley hit a 3-pointer to spark a 9-2 run and give the Jaguars their biggest lead of the game at 49-42.

Seckman took a 51-46 lead into the fourth quarter, but Jackson pulled even at 55-55 on a tip-in by Hester with 3:30 left in regulation.

The Jaguars (8-18) answered with six points by Kramer in a matter of seconds, as he followed up a 3-point basket with a three-point play with 3:16 remaining.

The loss was the 11th straight for the Jaguars, who received 17 points from Kaido and 13 from Kramer.

The Indians will be seeking their fifth consecutive district title against Poplar Bluff.

Jackson fell to the Mules 69-65 on Feb. 15 in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.

No individual scoring results were available.

Seckman 16 20 15 10 1 -- 62

Jackson 18 14 14 15 7 -- 68

SECKMAN (62) -- Brandon Hurley 22, Alec Garrett 2, Chase Kaido 17, Matt Kramer 13, Dylan Clark 8. FG 24, FT 9-13, F 15 (3-pointers: Hurley 2, Kaido 2, Kramer. Fouled out: Caido)

JACKSON (68) -- Jacob Friess 8, Garrett Walker 7, Jacob Smith 27, Pete Lake 3, Stephen Irons 9, Cameron Hester 12. FG 22, FT 18-22, F 12 (3-pointers: Walker, Smith, Irons 2. Fouled out: none)