An out-of-state cancellation for the Monroe City Panthers led them to an early-season battle in Jefferson City with the Jays.
Both teams got all they could handle Tuesday night at Fleming Fieldhouse.
The Jays led by as many as 12 and the Panthers were ahead by as many as 11. The teams needed overtime to decide it and Monroe City prevailed for a 61-58 victory.
"I really felt like we let one slip away there," Jays coach Tony Phillips said. "Turnovers and free throws. But I did like how we kept fighting, just kept battling. A lot to learn from."
The Jays trailed the Panthers, who made it to the Class 3 semifinals last season, by four (53-49) in the final minute after Joshua Talton made a pair of free throws.
A pair of missed free throws opened the door for the Jays. DeShawn Webster knocked down a 3-pointer from the wing and Monroe City turned it over with a traveling violation.
The Jays then missed a short shot and a 3-pointer before Sterling DeSha gave them a third chance with a rebound, making 1-of-2 free throws to send it to overtime tied at 53.
DeSha finished with game-highs in points (21) and rebounds (15).
"We found a way to get it to overtime and that's a good thing," Phillips said.
Jefferson City's final bucket came with 1:27 remaining in the extra period on a Michael Okpodighe floater for a 58-56 lead.
Jaedyn Robertson answered with a game-tying layup, the Jays were called for travelling and Logan Buhlig made a pair of free throws following an offensive rebound to take a 60-58 lead with :23 on the clock.
Jefferson City missed a 3 on back-to-back possessions and Buhlig added another free throw for the final point of the game.
The Jays built a lead in the first quarter with a 14-1 run in a three-minute stretch.
DeSha slammed home a two-handed dunk in transition to go up 12-5.
To cap the run, Quinn Walker stole the ball away and passed the ball up the floor to Keith Driver for a layup with 2:04 on the clock.
Driver had nine points and five rebounds for the Jays.
Nathan Hudnell's second 3 of the first quarter put the Jays ahead 19-8 after the opening eight minutes.
A DeSha 3-pointer from the top of the key gave the Jays their largest lead at 21-9.
Then Monroe City began to take the ball away from Jefferson City for layups and free throws at the other end.
The Panthers made 16-of-26 at the line.
"What kept them in the ballgame is the free-throw line," Phillips said.
Buhlig and Talton had back-to-back steals that led to layups to pull within 23-14, and a Talton layup with :57 on the clock made the halftime score 27-23 Jays.
Talton led the Panthers with 20 points and Buhlig finished with 19 points and seven rebounds.
"Their press is really designed to slow us down offensively and we just kept turning it over," Phillips said. " All those little things add up."
The second half opened with a steal and layup for Josiah Talton and a Joshua Talton 3-pointer for a 28-27 lead.
Monroe City's largest lead came with 3:45 remaining in the third quarter after Josiah Talton slapped the ball away and Robertson took it in for a layup to lead 42-31.
The Panthers led 47-40 after three quarters.
"We forced several turnovers, but we've got to bump cutters, we had a couple defensive breakdowns where they got easy buckets," Phillips said.
Jefferson City (1-1) is off until next Wednesday when the Jays head to Columbia for a Central Missouri Activities Conference matchup against Battle.
Jefferson City defeated Monroe City 52-17 in the JV game.
Chris Harris scored 12 points and Ryan Spraggs added 10 points for the Jays.