Prep bests rival JA for MAIS Overall title
Jackson Prep captured their MAIS-leading seventeenth Overall state title, with a thrilling 53-51 victory over rival Jackson Academy on Wednesday night at Mississippi College.
The matchup between rivals was almost as even as you could get. Both teams traded punches throughout the game, but a late layup from De’Marion Tyler with 21 seconds left gave Jackson Prep a one-point lead and secured another Overall title for one of the state’s most storied programs.
“We have told about it all week, that we have to be the tougher team,” Jackson Prep Head Coach Zach Allison said. “Jackson Academy is such a good team that is so well-coached and we knew that it was going to be a battle and that we were really going to have to grind it out.”
After finishing in third place in the MAIS Class 6A state tournament, the Patriots responded in a huge way, beating the 5A state champions, Heritage Academy, and the team who beat them in the 6A semifinals, Hartfield Academy, en route to the Overall championship. Jackson Academy had also split the season series with the Patriots, but had won the regular season 6A title.
“We didn’t really use it as motivation because we believe that when we truly play our game, we can beat anyone,” Allison said. “For us, it’s a business as usual, next game up mentality and our guys were locked in throughout the tournament.”
One of the best players in the MAIS, senior Ben Segrest, was dominant in this one for Jackson Prep, scoring 19 points and grabbing three rebounds in the win.
“Winning this championship is everything, this is what we have been working for all year,” Segrest said. “These games are what you play for and it’s a great way to end it.”
Senior John Ed Maddux also added a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Patriots.
For Jackson Academy, the dynamic guard combo of Marcus Goodloe and Caleb Gaitor scored 15 points a piece.
While this is the seventeenth Overall state title for Jackson Prep, it is the first as a Head Coach for Zach Allison, who was hired to take over the program in April of 2023. Allison spent one year as the Heritage Academy head coach, after being an assistant coach at Jackson Prep during their 2021-2022 MAIS Overall state championship run.
“We just have a great group of seniors here that have really led us this year and came back hungry after losing last year,” Allison said. “It feels really good to win this one, our team really grinded it out.”
Jackson Prep finishes the season with a 28-6 record and an MAIS Overall state championship, while Jackson Academy finishes with a 25-5 record and a MAIS Class 6A state title.