Jackson boys basketball team's long-awaited home opener ends in loss to Poplar Bluff

Poplar Bluff could have met its match in the paint during Tuesday's SEMO Conference boys basketball game at Jackson High School.

The bigger, taller Indians entered their first home game of the season after coming off a pivotal road win over Sikeston.

But the Mules were unfazed.

Poplar Bluff went on a 9-0 run in the second quarter and Chris Stocks finished with a game-high 25 points, leading the Mules to a 77-62 victory over Jackson.

"In that second quarter and really even that third quarter, we got the ball in the right people's hands," Poplar Bluff coach Will Durden said. "We got open shots, and our kids just knocked them down."

The Indians were out-rebounded 35-19 and only secured six boards in the first half.

"We've got to rebound better," Scott said. "That's something with our size and our athleticism and the way we work in practice on rebounding, we just seemed to have no sense of urgency to make sure we secure rebounds. If you're playing the game tonight where Bluff misses a shot or takes a bad shot and you don't come up with rebounds, that's huge."

Jackson's Jacob Smith drives to the hoop in the second quarter against Poplar Bluff Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015 in Jackson. (Glenn Landberg)

The two teams traded blows in a first quarter that featured seven lead changes. Jackson's Blake Reynolds scored eight of his team-high 19 points in the period. The Indians (11-5, 2-1) carried an 18-16 advantage into the second quarter.

Stocks knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key to break a tie at 23-all with 5 minutes, 20 seconds remaining in the half. The shot gave the Mules (13-2, 1-0) the lead for good and sparked a 9-0 run before Connor Shepard knocked down a pair of free throws to end Jackson's scoreless streak and cut Poplar Bluff's lead to 30-26 with four minutes left in the half.

"The first half was key just because they played so well. ... I thought we played pretty well the first half," Jackson coach Darrin Scott said.

Stocks finished 8 of 11 (73 percent) from the field and was a perfect 6 of 6 from the charity stripe.

"We got some good looks early on, and it carried over into the second half," Stocks said. "That's what we wanted to do, get some good looks and make some nice shots. That's what we try to do every game, make the easy shots."

Jackson found plenty of opportunities at the free-throw line before halftime. Poplar Bluff committed 13 fouls in the first half, compared to the Indians' four, but the Mules led 39-33 at the break.

"We always want to look to attack," Scott said. "In the first half, I thought they did a good job when they doubled Blake. He could have been a little more aggressive early. ... I felt like we did a good job of attacking and doing what we wanted to do offensively in the first half."

A pair of jumpers from Patrick Tillman pushed Poplar Bluff's lead to 43-33 in the opening minutes of the second half, but a 3-pointer from the left corner by Jacob Smith cut the Mules' lead to 53-47 with 1:05 remaining in the period.

Malik Metcalf knocked down a 3-pointer from the left corner with two seconds remaining in the quarter to give the Mules an 11-point advantage heading into the final period.

Tillman scored six of his 14 points in the third quarter for Poplar Bluff.

The Indians were unable to get closer than 11 points in the final period, during which Connor Shepard scored 10 for Jackson. Shepard finished with 17 points, Smith had 14 points, and Braden Wendel added 10 for Jackson, which shot 33 percent (19 of 57) from the field.

Poplar Bluff's bench outscored the Indians 16-0. Joseph Eyler added 13 points for the Mules, who were 28 of 55 (51 percent) shooting from the floor.

"More than anything, the guys just played really hard," Durden said. "They played really hard on defense. We tried to make them play at our pace and make them work tonight.

"Jackson's a really good team. Blake's a load. He's hard to stop. We tried to double- and triple-team him at times, and he still led them in scoring. That's how the game goes, but our guys just played hard."

The loss marks Jackson's first conference loss this season. Scott said his players know every game is going to be a challenge.

"The one thing I was proud of was they could have rolled a lot of teams in the first half with the way they played," Scott said. "If we didn't play well offensively and compete, it could have been a 15-point game in the first half easily."

Poplar Bluff 16 23 19 19 -- 77

Jackson 18 15 14 15 -- 62

POPLAR BLUFF (77) -- Chris Stocks 25, Patrick Tillman 14, Joseph Eyler 13, Abiodun Francis 9, Malik Metcalf 5, Willie Lucas 5, Brandon Stuckenschneider 4, Tristen Francisco 2. FG 28-55, FT 16-19, F 22. (3-pointers: Stocks 3, Metcalf 1, Tillman 1. Fouled out: none.)

JACKSON (62) -- Blake Reynolds 19, Connor Shepard 17, Jacob Smith 14, Braden Wendel 10, Garrett Walker 2. FG 19-57, FT 20-26, F 14. (3-pointers: Wendel 1, Smith 1, Reynolds 1, Shepard 1. Fouled out: none.)

JV -- Poplar Bluff won 51-38