WESSON – Northeast Mississippi outscored 16^th-ranked Jones County 13-4 over the game's final 2:59 and beat the Bobcats 67-62 here Tuesday afternoon in the opening round of the MACJC Tournament at Copiah-Lincoln's Mullen Gymnasium.
The Bobcats fall to 18-4, but will play in the Region 23 Tournament next week at Mississippi College. A tournament bracket will be released on Friday for that event.
Northeast Mississippi, 17-7, will now meet Holmes at 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday in a state semifinal game. Holmes edged East Central 62-59 in overtime on Tuesday.
JCJC led for almost the entire game, but Northeast took control late.
The Tigers took their first lead of the game at 59-58 with 1:46 left on a layup by Chris Ward. Raheem Sorrell's basket with 1:22 to play put the Tigers ahead 61-58.
Bryce Jones answered for the Bobcats to make it 61-60 with 1:02 to play. Dimario Jackson then made two free throws for NEMCC to make it 63-60 with 52 seconds left.
The Bobcats' Otis Harvey then missed on a 3-point attempt. But Jackson missed two free throws with 26 seconds to play to give JCJC another chance.
However, Jones misfired and NEMCC"s Dexter Stafford grabbed the rebound and got the ball to Jackson, who was fouled again.
This time, Jackson made both shots to give the Tigers a 65-60 lead with14 seconds to play.
Jones made a shot for the Bobcats with 10 seconds left, but NEMCC's Desmin Harris hit two free throws with nine seconds to play to clinch the game.
JCJC held the upper hand for most of the game.
The Bobcats' defense smothered the Tigers in the first half, limiting Northeast to a 4-for-20 effort from the floor in the game's first 20 minutes.
A Harvey layup gave JCJC a 16-6 lead with 9:35 left in the first half. Sorrell's free throw cut it to 19-14 with 5:48 left, but Bryce Perry's 3-pointer with 1:13 showing gave the Bobcats a 29-19 lead going into halftime.
NEMCC cut the lead to two midway through the second half, but a Rodrigus Palmer 3-pointer gave the Bobcats a 44-39 lead with 8:49 left.
The Tigers then came back and tied the game for the first time at 44-44 on a 3-pointer by Jackson with 7:51 to play. But JCJC responded quickly and went ahead 49-44 on a Palmer 3-pointer with 7:03 left.
Harvey's 3-pointer with 2:59 left gave the Bobcats a 58-54 lead, but the Tigers would then rally to post the win. NEMCC outscored JCJC 48-33 in the second half.
Palmer paced the Bobcats with 18 points, while Jones had 15 and Harvey added 13. Jones had seven assists and Marquis Cunningham paced the Bobcats with seven rebounds.
Jackson led the Tigers with 19 points and seven assists, while Jack Nichols had 13 points and Sorrell finished with 10. Stafford did not score, but he had a game-high 16 rebounds.
The Bobcats were 21-of-61 from the floor, including 8-of-31 from the 3-point line, for 34.4 percent. They were just 12-of-23 from the foul line.
Northeast was 18-of-54 from the field, including 5-of-25 from the 3-point line, for 33 percent. They were 26-of-37 from the free throw line for 70 percent.
The Tigers outrebounded JCJC 53-33, while JCJC committed 10 turnovers compared to 19 for NEMCC.
 
MACJC State Tournament
Wesson
Copiah-Lincoln Community College
At Mullen Gymnasium
Tuesday's game
MEN
Northeast Mississippi 67, Jones County 62
JONES COUNTY (18-4) – Rodrigus Palmer 18, Bryce Jones 15, Otis Harvey 13, Christopher White 9, Bryce Perry 7, Marquis Cunningham 0, Andrew Riley 0, Zeb Rice 0, Albert Goss 0, Bennett Davis 0.
NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI (17-7) – Dimario Jackson 19, Jack Nichols 13, Raheem Sorrell 10, Al Azulphar 8, Chris Ward 6, Chase Carroll 5, Desmin Harris 3, Antonio Dodson 3, Dexter Stafford 0, Tyre Mallard 0.
Northeast Mississippi        19 48 – 67
Jones County                      29 33 – 62
 
MACJC State Tournament
At Wesson
Copiah-Lincoln Community College
Mullen Gymnasium
WOMEN
Monday's results
Meridian 76, Itawamba 74
East Central 90, Holmes 69
Copiah-Lincoln 71, East Mississippi 48
Jones County 91, Northwest 71
Wednesday's games
Meridian vs. East Central, 1 p.m.
Co-Lin vs. JCJC, 6 p.m.
Thursday's games
Championship, 6 p.m.
 
MEN
Tuesday's results
Northeast Mississippi 67, Jones County 62
Holmes 62, East Central 59 (OT)
Pearl River 70, Mississippi Delta 61
Miss. Gulf Coast 78, East Mississippi 74
Wednesday's games
Holmes vs. Northeast Mississippi, 2:45 p.m.
Pearl River vs. Miss. Gulf Coast, 7:45 p.m.
Thursday's game
Championship, 7:45 p.m.