Semoball

Jackson hoops to unveil its version of 'Showtime'

Jackson guard Luke Reynolds (23) puts up a shot during the Indians' 62-54 win against Poplar Bluff in the 2018 Class 5 District 1 championship last season at Jackson High School.
Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian

There should be no complaining about the level of entertainment that the Jackson boy’s basketball squad provides the Indian fan base this winter.

“We have a lot of athleticism on our team this year,” senior guard Luke Reynolds said. “It’ going to make ‘Showtime’ for us.”

The Lakers, er… Indians, opened their season Monday with a 72-58 win over Carnahan (1-3) and they did so in a fun manner.

Jackson’s initial three baskets consisted of a near-dunk and minutes later, an actual dunk, thrown down by 6-foot-5 junior forward Nick Wasilewski, as well as a jam by senior guard Lane Crowden off a steal in transition.

“We’ve got some good athletes,” veteran Indian coach Darrin Scott said.

Those athletes are the basis for an up-tempo style that Jackson is going to implement at both ends of the floor.

“We have worked really hard in the weight room in trying to increase our athleticism,” Scott said. “We’re trying to push it.”

The Indians got into the Cougars defensively and forced five early turnovers in building a 17-6 lead by the end of the opening quarter.

Jackson stretched that lead to 36-20 at halftime, as Reynolds began to drive and draw fouls in getting to the free-throw line.

He finished with 16 points and a dozen rebounds, as he got to the free-throw line for 10 attempts.

“We’ve got to get better when Luke isn’t on the floor,” Scott said. “We take a big drop if he’s not on the floor.”

That won’t be often, however.

Reynolds was one of several perimeter players who were effective at both ends.

Sophomore Quinn Scott scored eight points and was very solid at running the offense as the primary point guard.

Carnahan zone-pressed the Indians and Scott handled that pressure very well.

Both Scott and Reynolds looked capable of taking an outlet pass and speeding up the floor, and Crowden (six points, six rebounds) did so on occasion, as well.

In the second half, Coach Scott had to slow the game down due to Wasilewski and Crowden getting in foul trouble.

The Indians are still without four athletes from the football team (Kannen Turley, Markiese Jones, Michael Scheider, and Rhet Liley), which has made practices challenging at times.

“We’ve had a few eight-guy practices when the (junior varsity) has a game,” Scott said. “It makes it tough to do five-on-five and really work on some things.”

Depth wasn’t too much of an issue Monday, however. Scott was able to bring 6-foot-3 junior guard Luke Mirly off the bench and he lit up Carnahan for a team-best 18 points.

Wasilewski finished with 11 points to go with nine rebounds, while 6-foot-8 freshman post Clayton Ernst totaled eight points and seven boards in his first high school game ever.

“I felt like we did a good job with our pace most of the time,” Scott said. “Defensively, we hope that can be to our advantage at some point.”

The Indians are off until Monday when they open play in the SEMO Conference Tournament.

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