JACKSON TURNS TABLES; INDIANS AVENGE LOSS TO CAPE CENTRAL 56-48

JACKSON -- In area high school basketball circles, Cape Girardeau Central has been thrust squarely into the limelight this season -- particularly after winning the University High Christmas Tournament -- while Jackson has basically been relegated to the background.

But if Tuesday night is any indication, that all might be changing.

Jackson, which is putting together a solid if not spectacular season, stunned visiting Central 56-48 before a loud and vocal crowd that packed the Indians' gymnasium.

The Indians improved their record to 14-8 while the Tigers fell to 17-5 after losing for the second time in three games.

"It's a great feeling to beat Cape," said Justin Keen, who led the Indians in scoring with 18 points. "They've kind of been a team that everybody has talked about this year, so that makes it even better."

Jackson avenged a 47-42 loss to Central in the University High tourney in December.

"Our kids played well," said Jackson coach Steve Burk, who last Thursday notched his 300th victory as the Indians' boss. He is now 301-151 in his 17th season at Jackson. "We did a good job defensively and I thought we ran our offense well."

Jackson's plan was to be as patient as possible offensively and utilize a zone, with some man-to-man mixed in, defensively. Throw in some serious work on the boards and the Indians carried out their plans to near perfection.

"We played our tempo. We played our style of ball," said Keen, a 6-foot-5 junior. "We always took good shots and I thought we played good defense."

Said Burk, "We told our kids we want the game in the 50s and they (Central) probably want it in the 70s. A lot of it is who's will prevail. We were able to get the game at our speed."

Burk also credited his team's defense, which helped limit Central sharpshooter Nathan Owen to only eight points after Owen had blistered the nets for 31 during the U-High tournament win over Jackson.

"I thought our zone gave them trouble," Burk said. "Nathan is a tremendous player. The last game he seemingly couldn't miss. We tried to change the defenses up some this time."

Said Keen of the Indians' defense against Owen, "We just wanted to contest all his shots and hope not to catch him on fire like last time."

Brandon Streiler added 10 points for the Indians, nine of those coming in the fourth quarter. Jackson also got solid play from a host of others, including guards Mike Gross and Justin Suedmeyer, who contributed eight points apiece along with solid ballhandling, and Jeff Walter, who had six points and helped out on the boards.

"I thought all our guys contributed," Burk said.

The Tigers were led by Lavelle Lewis with 19 points.

"Jackson played a great game," said Central coach Brett Reutzel. "His (Burk's) teams always are well coached, they execute very well and they're fundamentally sound. When you play them, you better be ready to play.

"They played harder than us. They deserved to win. I don't think we played sound defense and we're not in sync offensively. It's kind of like it was early in the season, when we started out 1-2."

Jackson fell behind 3-0 early, but after that the Indians had control virtually the rest of the night.

The Indians led 9-6 after the first quarter, then opened up a 15-8 lead in the second period. Central rallied for a 17-17 tie, but Jackson pulled away a bit toward the end of the half. Gross's three-point play inside with 12 seconds left gave the Tribe a 24-18 halftime lead.

Keen scored five quick points to start the second half as the Indians opened up a 29-18 lead. Keen bombed home a 3-pointer, was fouled and converted the four-point play to make it 37-24 late in the third quarter. It was 37-26 entering the final period.

Keen's 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter gave Jackson its biggest lead at 51-35.

Lewis got hot, scoring eight points during a 10-0 run as the Tigers pulled to within 51-45. But Gross hit one free throw while Streiler and Suedmeyer both made two foul shots as the Indians sealed the win.

"We were real focused tonight," said Walter. "We just went out and everybody did a good job."

Both teams return to action Friday on the road, Central against Sikeston and Jackson against New Madrid.