ELLISVILLE – The 16^th-ranked Jones County Junior College Bobcats used its defense to take control against Meridian Community College.
JCJC held the Eagles scoreless for over six minutes of the first half, took the lead for good midway through the second half and defeated MCC 72-63 here Tuesday night at A.B. Howard Gymnasium.
The victory lifts JCJC to 12-0 overall and 5-0 in the MACJC South Division. The Bobcats have now won 20 straight games dating back to last year's national championship run.
Rodrigus Palmer keyed the Bobcats with a 23-point effort. He had 14 points in the opening half to help keep JCJC in the game.
Palmer's 3-pointer from the right wing gave the Bobcats a 7-5 lead, but Meridian then went on a 15-5 run and took a 20-12 lead with 9:59 left in the first half when Demarius Calvert scored.
JCJC then held the Eagles scoreless for over six minutes and scored 11 straight points. Otis Harvey's basket with 4:09 left in the first half gave the Bobcats a 23-20 lead.
But the Eagles came back and would take a 30-28 halftime edge.
MCC was up 41-38 when the Bobcats would rally.
First, Bryce Perry drilled a 3-pointer to tie it at 41-41 with 12:27 to play. Then, Christopher White slammed home a dunk off an alley-oop pass from Bryce Jones to give the Bobcats the lead for good at 43-41 with 11:14 remaining.
JCJC's full-court zone pressure caused the Eagles problems from that point forward. The Bobcats went on a 15-8 run and went up 58-49 with 4:30 left when Jones made two free throws.
JCJC's longest lead would be 12 points on two occasions – 66-54 with 2:08 to play after a Perry basket and 69-57 with 59.7 seconds left after two Jones' free throws.
After Palmer's effort, the Bobcats got 12 points from Marquis Cunningham, 11 from Perry and 10 from Jones.
Brandon Daniels led the Eagles, 6-7 overall and 0-5 in the division, with 17 points. Phillip Walker added 12.
JCJC travels to Southwest Mississippi on Thursday with the women's game starting at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men's game at 7:30 p.m. The Bobcats conclude the first half of division play with home games vs. Hinds on Monday.
Meridian hosts Copiah-Lincoln on Thursday.
 
Tuesday's game
At Ellisville
A.B. Howard Gymnasium
MEN
Jones County 72, Meridian 63
MERIDIAN (6-7, 0-5) – Brandon Daniels 17, Phillip Walker 12, Ken'darrius Hamilton 8, Jadarreon Williams 7, Devontae Brewer 6, Steven Brand 5, Frankie Collins 4, Jonathan Tillman 2, Demarius Calvert 2.
JONES COUNTY (12-0, 5-0) – Rodrigus Palmer 23, Marquis Cunningham 12, Bryce Perry 11, Bryce Jones 10, Otis Harvey 7, Christopher White 6, Kendarius Murry 2, Andrew Riley 1, Nigel Bradley 0, Zeb Rice 0, Emetric Fells 0, Albert Goss 0, Bennett Davis 0.
Meridian            30 33 – 63
Jones County   28 44 – 72