Preview: New Madrid County Central Eagles vs. Jackson Fighting Indians
New Madrid County Central and Jackson are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2017, but not for long. The New Madrid County Central Eagles will head out on the road to square off against the Jackson Fighting Indians at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. New Madrid County Central has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 1,632 points over their last 22 matchups.
In what's become a running theme this season, New Madrid County Central gave their fans yet another huge win on Tuesday. They blew past Caruthersville, posting a 82-43 victory at home. Given New Madrid County Central's advantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked second, while Caruthersville is ranked 223rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Jadis Jones continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 37 points and 13 rebounds. He has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last 11 times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of AJ Ruff, who scored seven points along with ten assists and seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, Jackson came tearing into Friday's contest with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.8 points) and they left with even more momentum. They took their game at home with ease, bagging a 69-39 victory over Oakville. Jackson pushed the score to 60-26 by the end of the third, a deficit Oakville cut but never quite recovered from.
Kole Deck and Judd Thoma were among the main playmakers for Jackson as the former scored 18 points and the latter dropped a double-double on 16 points and 11 rebounds. Thoma continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Blayne Harris, who scored 14 points.
New Madrid County Central pushed their record up to 21-1 with that victory, which was their 17th straight at home dating back to last season. As for Jackson, they are on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 11 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 14-6 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: New Madrid County Central have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Jackson struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.8 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
New Madrid County Central was able to grind out a solid victory over Jackson in their previous meeting back in February of 2023, winning 57-47. The rematch might be a little tougher for New Madrid County Central since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
