ELLISVILLE – The 15th-ranked Jones County Junior College Bobcats are tied for first place in the MACJC South Division with one game left in the regular season.
The Bobcats whipped Southwest Mississippi 83-61 here Monday on "Sophomore Night" at A.B. Howard Gymnasium.
JCJC is now 17-3 overall and tied for first in the division with Pearl River at 10-3. The Wildcats lost 73-72 at East Central on Monday.
The Bobcats conclude regular season play at Hinds in Utica on Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. game. Pearl River travels to Meridian on Thursday.
JCJC will play in the MACJC State Tournament next week at Copiah-Lincoln. An official tournament bracket will be released Friday afternoon, but four women's games will be played on Monday and four men's games will be on Feb. 24. The semifinals are set for Feb. 25 and the championship games are on Feb. 26.
JCJC took the lead for good at 17-15 with 11:14 remaining in the first half when Albert Goss scored. A Rodrigus Palmer layup put the Bobcats up 28-19 with 7:21 showing.
The Bears cut the lead to 31-25 with 4:48 left on a layup by Jaylen Moore. JCJC took a 41-28 halftime lead when Andrew Riley tipped in a missed shot at the buzzer.
The Bobcats started the second half on a 7-0 run, capped by a Marquis Cunningham free throw with 17:45 left in the game, to take a 48-28 lead.
A Bryce Jones' 3-pointer at 12:07 gave JCJC a 57-34 lead. The Bobcats matched their longest lead at 65-41 with 8:21 left on a Palmer basket.
SMCC pulled within 67-51 with 5:49 remaining when Lafayette Rutledge made two free throws. But JCJC ran the lead out to 78-55 with 1:55 left on a 20-footer by James Williams.
Jones led the Bobcats with 19 points, while Cunningham added 16 and Bryce Perry had 13.
The Bears, 8-13 overall and 5-8 in the division, got 18 points from Moore and 11 each from Xavion Dillon and Trent Jeffries.
SMCC hosts East Central on Thursday in its regular season finale.
Bobcat Sophomores
Bobcat sophomores who were recognized were Christopher "CJ" White, Otis Harvey, Bryce Perry, Bryce Jones, Bennett Davis, Marquis Cunningham and Rodrigus Palmer.
 
Monday's game
Ellisville
At A.B. Howard Gymnasium
MEN
Jones County 83, Southwest Mississippi 61     
SOUTHWEST (8-13, 5-8) – Jaylen Moore 18, Xavion Dillon 11, Trent Jeffries 11, Lafayette Rutledge 8, Chris McIntosh 7, David Burrell 2, LeDerrius Simmons 2, CJ Polite 2, Monte Martin 0, Jeremy Reddy 0, Justin McCray 0.
JONES COUNTY (17-3, 10-3) – Bryce Jones 19, Marquis Cunningham 16, Bryce Perry 13, Otis Harvey 8, Rodrigus Palmer 6, Christopher White 6, James Williams 5, Andrew Riley 4, Albert Goss 4, Bennett Davis 2, Kendarius Murry 0, Andre'Co Calender 0, Zeb Rice 0, Emetric Fells 0.
Southwest                 28 33 – 61
Jones County            41 42 – 83