Jackson knocks off Cape Central, earns big road win

A relentless second-half effort paced the Jackson Indians as they downed the Cape Central Tigers 51-49 on Friday at Cape Central High School.

The opening eight minutes proved just how tight the contest was going to be.

Cape Central, without TySeanDre’ Edwards, opened the game with a 9-0 run, forcing the Indians to take a timeout and settle things down.

Out of the Jackson timeout, the Indians had their own response in them as they reeled off 11-straight, behind nine points from Kole Deck to take an 11-9 lead.

“Basketball is really just a funny game,” Indians coach Kory Thoma said. “They started out on a 9-0 run and I was kind of expecting that with it being homecoming night. Good teams battle back and I hope to consider our team a good team.”

Despite both teams going on extended runs, the score was tied 15-15 after the first quarter.

The opening minutes of the second quarter saw both teams dig in defensively, but the Tigers were able to slowly take control as the quarter progressed.

Capped off by a thunderous jam by Marquel Murray, the Tigers took a 33-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.

“We had a long halftime talk about the second quarter,” Thoma said. “It wasn’t very positive, I’ll put it like that. It was just the fundamentals. We weren’t blocking out, we were giving up second chance points, direct drives and we weren’t staying connected. I told them we had two options, we could either get blown out or get back in the game.”

While it was Cape Central controlling much of the second quarter, the Indians had a ferocious response in the third quarter, holding the Tigers to just 11 points as the Indians trailed 44-38 heading into the fourth.

“After the chewing they got at halftime, (defense) was the priority,” Thoma said.

The Indians remained tenacious in the fourth quarter, holding the Tigers to two points in the first five minutes of the quarter to cut the lead to 46-45.

Jay Reynolds got the Tigers a much needed bucket by going to the rim to make it 48-45 but a Blayne Harris midrange followed by a Kole Deck three, gave Jackson a 50-48 lead.

On the ensuing Cape Central possession, Reynolds was fouled where he split a pair to cut the Indians lead to 50-49.

After Blayne Harris split a pair of free throws to make it 51-49 Jackson, the Indians came up with a stop on defense to win the game.

Friday night marked the first time since 2014 that Jackson went into Cape Central High School and won.

“It’s good for the seniors,” Thoma said. “This was the last time they got to play (Cape Central).”

The Indians were led in scoring by Deck, who poured in a game-high 22 points in the win for the Indians.

The Tigers were paced by Reynolds who scored 16 points in the loss.

Cape Central (10-4) returns to action at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 23, when the Tigers host Hillsboro.

Jackson (11-6) hits the road at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 23, when the Indians travel to take on the Notre Dame Bulldogs.

“Notre Dame is playing really good right now,” Thoma said. “They’re well-coached and improving every game. The kids are playing hard for Coach Brinkmeyer and I really like watching them play.”

__ JACKSON 51, CAPE CENTRAL 49__

Jackson 15 8 15 13 — 51

Cape Central 15 18 11 5 — 49

Jackson (51) — Kole Deck 22, Gavin Holdman 8, Judd Thoma 7, Blayne Harris 5, Braden Thompson 4, Keegan Stutzman 2, Kolton Thoma 2, Jackson Shock 1. FG: 20. (3-pointers: Deck 5)

Cape Central (49) — Jaydon Reynolds 16, Marquel Murray 13, Tyson Williams 10, Matayo Rivers 8, Goliath Morris-Young 2. FG: 18. (3-pointers: Rivers 2, Murray 1, Reynolds 1)