Poplar Bluff overtakes Jackson in second half

~ The Indians saw their halftime lead disappear in the opening minutes of the third quarter and lost 58-42

Poplar Bluff stonewalled Jackson for the first 6-plus minutes of the second half Tuesday night.

The Mules turned a halftime deficit into a double-digit lead by opening the third quarter with a 15-point run to beat host Jackson 58-42 in SEMO Conference play.

"That's been our downfall," Jackson coach Darrin Scott said of the second-half start. "We've got to find a way to get better at that."

The Indians didn't score for the first 6 minutes, 26 seconds of the second half, missing their first four shots from the field and turning the ball over three straight trips down the floor.

The Mules took advantage and led 41-29 before Bobby Clark ended Jackson's scoring drought with a shot from the paint over two defenders.

Jackson scored just 13 second-half points.

"What we talked about at halftime is simply we have to play better," Mules coach Lamont Frazier said. "We don't spend a whole lot of time at this juncture here talking about X's and O's, we spend more time talking about how hard can we play."

Zach McDowell scored eight of his team-high 15 points in the first quarter to lead Jackson (10-5, 1-1 SEMO Conference).

Jake White and Ike Anders each scored 13 to lead Poplar Bluff (8-8, 1-0), which held its 10th opponent to under 50 points.

"They're playing well, and when their guards shoot it well like they did tonight, and they handle it well, they're tough to guard," Scott said of the Mules, who won their fourth straight.

There were eight lead changes and four ties early. Jackson took a 10-6 lead following consecutive 3-pointers by Tyler Rhodes. Poplar Bluff, however, led 17-16 at the end of the first quarter.

Jackson led by as many as five in the second quarter and took a 29-26 lead into halftime.

Poplar Bluff had five players score during their run to open the third quarter. Kendric McCain's baseline runner put Poplar Bluff ahead for good at the 6:18 mark. Anders hit a 3-pointer to push the advantage to 10 points with 3:09 left, and White followed a Jackson miss with a basket to put the Mules up 12.

Poplar Bluff led 42-33 heading into the fourth quarter and hit 7 of 10 free throws down the stretch.

The Indians shot 40 percent from the field, got outrebounded by two and gave up 19 points off turnovers.

"You can't make 21 turnovers," Scott said. "But here's one big thing, we made three turnovers in a row.

"If we turn it over once, we got to go to the next play and not turn it over the next time, get the ball where it needs to be."

Poplar Bluff 17 9 16 16 -- 58

Jackson 16 13 4 9 -- 42

POPLAR BLUFF (8-8) -- Rhys Griffith 3, Michael Griggs 2, Kendric McCain 8, Jake Rathbun 0, D'markus Patterson 7, Joey Bloodworth 8, Ike Anders 13, Nick Shrum 4, Jake White 13. FG 21, FT 11-16, F 20. (3-pointers: White 2, Anders 1, Patterson 1, Griffith 1. Fouled out: none)

JACKSON (10-5) -- Caleb Newcomber 4, Law Duncan 2, Tyler Rhodes 8, Zach McDowell 15, Bobby Clark 8, Brad Clark 5. FG: 13, FT 14-19, F 17. (3-pointers: Rhodes 2. Fouled out: none)