By: Josh Goldfine

The Jackson TN Underdawgs are no stranger to big upsets in the opening round of The Basketball Tournament. Saturday afternoon in Peoria was just another day of sending a highly-touted program home for the summer.

George Stanberry and Terrandus Smith had 10 points apiece, and the Jackson TN Underdawgs once again pulled a TBT stunner by sending House of Paign home in a 64-58 win.

“It feels great,” said Jackson coach Dexter Williams. “There’s pressure to get that first win.”

As a 16th-seed, Jackson knocked off the top-seeded Bluegrass Boys, a Kentucky alumni squad, back in 2016. Eleven different Underdawgs scored in Saturday afternoon’s upset win.

“It was our plan to play every single young man,” said Williams. “We don’t have anyone dress who can’t help us.”

House of ‘Paign, an Illinois alumni squad which had high hopes after a strong 2020 TBT debut that ended in a quarterfinal loss, fell flat in its quest for another deep tournament run this summer.

“They played harder,” said House of ‘Paign coach Mike Latulip. “They got to loose balls. They kicked our butt.”

Mike Daum, TBT’s sixth-leading scorer last summer, scored just 11 points on 3-for-11 shooting in the loss for House of ‘Paign, which shot just 33% from the field.

The Underdawgs held off the highly-touted Illini alumni down the stretch, and Williams gave all of the credit to his team’s defensive intensity.

“We kept defending, and that’s why we came out on top,” Williams said.

Jackson will continue to relish its role as it heads into the second round.

“The minute that you stop referring to yourself as an underdog,” said Smith, “That’s when you’re in trouble.”