ABOVE: Fairmont's Nolan Schultze follows through on a 3-pointer while Carson Pohlman of Jackson County Central looks on in a Big South Conference basketball game Friday night in Jackson.

ACKSON – With lockdown defense in the final 1:20 of Friday night’s Big South Conference boys basketball game, the Fairmont Cardinals were able to lock down a big 40-38 upset win over the No. 4-ranked Jackson County Central Huskies.

Fairmont moved to 11-6 overall and 6-5 in the conference with the win and gave the Huskies just their second loss of the season as JCC fell to 14-2 overall and 11-2 in the conference

“We talked about being really resilient,” said Fairmont head coach Jared Thompson. “You know, when we get knocked down, get up because Jackson’s really good and they’re gonna make you look bad at times. We talked about being connected and communicating. We talked about that being the loudest arena we’d be in all year, so they’re gonna have to talk more to each other

and they did a great job of that. They called more of their own plays. They did more communicating tonight than they have all year. I’m incredibly proud of that and we just enjoyed the competition.”

Leading the Cardinals was Hadan Toomer with 12 points and four rebounds, while Logan Junkermeier had 11 points and six rebounds. Oliver Tordsen had 6 points and eight rebounds, while Joseph Hackett had 6 points and five rebounds.

As the first half progressed, the feeling-out process continued for both squads. The Huskies were the first to strike, going up 4-0 before Junkermeier found the bottom of the net for the first Cardinals bucket.

A long 3-pointer by number Weston Rowe gave the Huskies a 7-2 lead. The teams continued to exchange buckets, but Jackson stayed in control, going up 10-6. The Cardinals were back on top with the help of Toomer, Tordsen and Junkermeier to go up 13-10.

However, the equal matchup between Fairmont and Jackson would continue to intensify as the teams continued to trade the lead back and forth before Jackson’s Grant Freking battled for a loose ball on the ground and managed to throw up a shot that went in before the final buzzer, closing out the half 21-17 Huskies.

The low-scoring battle of the bigs maintained a high level of intensity as the second half started. A quick bucket by Freking reopened the scoring for JCC after two minutes had run off the clock, extending the lead 23-17. In response, Junkermeier drained a shot from beyond the arc and followed it up on the next possession with a strong finish at the rim.

Though the Cardinals were shutting down passing lanes and forcing the Huskies outside, they had no issue taking the open shots and extended their lead to 35-29. With 7:55 remaining in the game and down by 6 points, a timeout by Fairmont set off an 11-0 run by the Cardinals that began with a trio of buckets by Toomer to help Fairmont go up 40-35. JCC hit a 3-pointer pulling within two and stopping the clock with 1:20 remaining tried to find the equalizer but the Cardinals’ defense held strong securing the 40-38 victory.

The Cardinals host Luverne at 7:30 on Monday.