With none of the four teams in the Class 5 District 8 Tournament boasting a winning record, it was clear anyone could win it.
The fourth-seeded Jefferson City Jays, entering district play with a three-game losing streak and a 9-15 record, got a fast start and never trailed in the second half to knock off the top-seeded Troy Trojans 59-51 in the semifinals Tuesday night at Fleming Fieldhouse.
"We're trying to prove to everybody that we're a better team out of all four of us put together," Jays guard Kamari Balton said.
The senior didn't want his high school career to end Tuesday, scoring a game-high 30 points and grabbing six rebounds.
"I wanted to put a show on for the crowd," Balton said. "I was in it to win it, especially for the school. I wanted to win it for the school, not just for our team but for our community."
The Jays hadn't won since an overtime victory against Hickman on Feb. 7. A three-game losing streak followed, including two by three points or less.
"This season has been up and down," Jays coach Blair Thompson said. "We've had some good times and had some tough pills to swallow along the way, but we've done it, kept going forward and showed up at a very good time tonight."
Jefferson City scored the first seven points of Tuesday's game, five off turnovers.
The Jays came out trying to double-team the ball as much as possible, helping cause five turnovers in the first quarter.
Then Troy found a way to take advantage of the Jays' pressure by finding Andrew Nett open around the arc.
The 6-foot-6 junior quickly made a seven-point deficit with 2:15 left in the opening quarter into a one-point margin with a pair of 3s. Four of his five 3s came in the first half.
"We tried to speed them up a little bit," Thompson said. "We actually got a little bit over extended and let No. 11 get loose too many times as a result to that."
Troy took a 20-17 lead early in the second quarter on Nett's third 3-pointer and later answered a Balton 3 to tie it at 25 with less than a minute left before halftime.
Balton added a jumper and Jared Cooper scored a transition layup to give the Jays a 29-25 advantage at the break.
The Jays led 35-28 at the 5:20 mark of the third quarter after a reverse layup from Balton. Jefferson City then had a 4-minute drought as the Trojans cut it to 35-34 with 2:49 left in the quarter.
Hudson Nilges came off the bench to score his only points of the game with 1:08 left in the third quarter, a 3-pointer from the wing to give the Jays a 38-34 edge heading into the final quarter.
That started a 10-0 run for Jefferson City, which got its largest lead of the game when Balton made a 3 to make it 45-34 with 6:33 remaining.
DaMani Jarrett scored the first bucket of the fourth quarter and had two blocks during the run.
"That's just guys off the bench being ready," Thompson said. " DaMani was ready and stepped in and did a good job."
Troy mounted a final comeback attempt with an 8-0 run, including a pair of 3s, to get within 45-42 midway through the fourth quarter.
Balton put a stop to that, draining another 3 to start an 11-4 run.
Cooper, who's played more varsity minutes recently after spending most of the season as a JV player, scored a second-chance bucket during the run. The junior scored six points on 3-of-4 shooting.
"Over the last month he's just played unbelievable and he left us no choice," Thompson said. "We had to get him in there, that's how well he's been playing. He has a nose for the ball and just solid. He deserves a shot and he's got it."
The Jays will set their sights on the Battle Spartans, who defeated second-seeded Holt 69-54 in Tuesday's other semifinal.
The Spartans defeated the Jays 72-64 on Feb. 10 in Columbia. They'll meet again at 7 p.m. Thursday in the championship game.
"It's fun, we're excited, but at the same time we know we have practice tomorrow and that's a good thing," Thompson said.