Eleven days after No. 5 Hickman blasted Jefferson City by 27 points, the Jays made a game of it Tuesday night.
A late rally fell short, however, in a 56-51 loss to the Kewpies at Fleming Fieldhouse.
"Obviously we gave ourselves a chance," Jefferson City coach Blair Thompson said. "We just came up a few plays short."
It looked for a while that Tuesday's game might turn out just like the Dec. 7 game, a 76-49 Hickman win at the McDonalds Basketball Invitational in Blue Springs.