CLINTON – East Central only led 16^th-ranked Jones County Junior College for around four minutes of play here Wednesday afternoon in the first round of the Region 23 Tournament.
But that proved to be enough.
Quinton Campbell's 3-pointer with 20 seconds to play gave the Warriors a 66-64 lead and they went on to edge the Bobcats, 67-64, at the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the campus of Mississippi College.
However, the defending national champion Bobcats, 18-5, still have a chance of returning to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas, March 16-21.
Four at-large teams will be chosen for the 24-team field. The field is expected to be finalized on Tuesday.
East Central, 14-11, advances to the region semifinals at noon on Friday where they will face Holmes. Holmes eliminated Northeast Mississippi, 78-68.
In other first round games, Pearl River rallied to beat Baton Rouge Community College (Louisiana), 68-67, while East Mississippi defeated Southern University-Shreveport (Louisiana), 78-60. PRCC meets East Mississippi at 2 p.m. on Friday in a semifinal game with the championship set for 8 p.m. on Saturday.
On the women's side, the Lady Bobcats will face Baton Rouge at 8 p.m. on Thursday in a first round game.
After Campbell's basket, the Bobcats appeared to have tied the game when Rodrigus Palmer scored on a drive to the basket with 12.4 seconds to play. However, he was called for an offensive foul, the goal did not count and ECCC was given ball possession.
Isaiah Traylor was fouled on the inbounds play and converted one free throw to put the Warriors up 67-64 with 11.2 seconds left.
After a timeout, the Bobcats got the ball downcourt, but Otis Harvey's 3-point effort at the buzzer was no good and the Warriors claimed the victory.
The Bobcats were hampered by foul problems down the stretch.
JCJC played the final 9:02 of the game without starting point guard Bryce Jones, who fouled out. Starting power forward Christopher White picked up his fourth foul with 10:40 to play and was limited in his minutes the remainder of the game.
JCJC began the game in strong fashion.
The Bobcats took an 11-2 lead with 15:20 to play in the first half on a 3-pointer by Zeb Rice. ECCC's first field goal of the game did not come until the 14:24 mark when Traylor scored and converted a free throw to make it 11-7.
The Bobcats took their longest lead of the game at 20-9 with 11:50 showing on an Andrew Riley bucket. ECCC fought back and pulled within 24-21 with 8:26 left when Ramone Tate hit a 3-pointer.
Jones converted a 3-point play to give the Bobcats a 27-21 lead with 6:36 remaining, but the Warriors came back and tied it at 31-31 at halftime when Ravion Henry made two free throws with 3.4 seconds left.
ECCC would take its longest lead of the game at 40-35 with 17:01 to play when Prince McDaniel made a 3-pointer from the left wing.
But the Bobcats then went on an 11-0 run and took a 46-40 lead with 14:29 to play when Bryce Perry scored on a putback. The Bobcats' longest lead of the second half came with 13:15 left when Rice made a 3-pointer from the top of the key extended to make it 49-41.
JCJC maintained its lead and took a 62-57 advantage with 5:00 left on another offensive rebound putback by Perry, but that would be their last field goal of the game. Palmer's free throw gave JCJC a 63-57 lead with 3:46 left, but ECCC outscored them 10-1 the rest of the way.
Rice paced the Bobcats with 18 points, while Jones had 17 and Palmer finished with 12.
Traylor had 17 for the Warriors, while Campbell had 16 points and 16 rebounds. Henry had 14 points.
JCJC was 20-of-58 from the floor, including 7-of-25 from the 3-point line, for 35 percent. The Bobcats were 17-of-27 from the free throw line.
East Central was 19-of-49 from the field, including 7-of-23 from 3-point range, for 39 percent. The Warriors were 22-of-31 from the foul line.
Unofficially, the Warriors were credited with 46 rebounds, compared to 31 for JCJC. The Bobcats had 10 turnovers, compared to 15 for ECCC.
 
 
Region 23 Tournament
At Clinton
Mississippi College
A.E. Wood Coliseum
Wednesday's game
East Central 67, Jones County 64
EAST CENTRAL (14-11) – Isaiah Traylor 17, Quinton Campbell 16, Ravion Henry 14, Prince McDaniel 6, Randy Phillips 6, Demarkus Jones 5, Ramone Tate 3, Demond Morgan 0, Kristian Clark 0, Derrick Dandridge 0, Keon McKinney 0, Irishma Bowie 0.
JONES COUNTY (18-5) – Zeb Rice 18, Bryce Jones 17, Rodrigus Palmer 12, Bryce Perry 7, Christopher White 4, Andrew Riley 2, Marquis Cunningham 2, Otis Harvey 2, Albert Goss 0.
East Central              31 36 – 67
Jones County           31 33 – 64
 
 

Region 23 Tournament

At Clinton
Mississippi College
A.E. Wood Coliseum
MEN
Wednesday's results
Holmes 78, Northeast Mississippi 68
East Central 67, Jones County 64
Pearl River 68, Baton Rouge Community College (LA), 67
East Mississippi 78, Southern-Shreveport (LA), 60
Friday's games
Holmes vs. East Central, noon
Pearl River vs. East Mississippi, 2 p.m.
Saturday, March 7 game
Championship, 8 p.m.