ELLISVILLE – Jones County placed three players in double figures en route to a 73-68 victory over Southwest Mississippi here Thursday night at A.B. Howard Gymnasium.
Bruce Stevens paced the Bobcats with 18 points, while Christian Robertson added 17 and Andre Johnson had 10.
The win gives JCJC a 9-4 overall record, 4-2 in the MACJC South Division. The Bears fall to 9-5 overall, 4-2 in the division.
JCJC, Southwest, East Central and Pearl River are all tied for second place in the division. Mississippi Gulf Coast leads the league at 5-1.
The Bobcats took the lead for good when Robertson scored with 16:41 left in the first half to make it 8-6.
The Bears were down 17-14 midway through the first half when JCJC began to take control. Robertson's two free throws capped a 13-3 run and gave the Bobcats a 30-17 lead with 3:59 left in the first half.
JCJC was up 36-25 at halftime and matched their longest lead of the game when Tristin Walley scored to open the second half and make it 38-25.
The Bears got back to within 43-40 with 14:07 left when Bryce Baker scored. JCJC ran the margin back out to 50-42 with 11:30 left when Stevens scored.
Southwest rallied to within 52-50 at the 8:26 mark when Terrell Miller scored. But the Bobcats pulled away again and went ahead 66-57 with 4:06 remaining when Walley converted a 3-point play.
Emmanuel Thompson scored with 1:11 to play and got the Bears back to within 69-66. But Stevens then took a pass from Robertson, slammed home a dunk, drew a foul and converted the free throw to give the Bobcats a 72-66 lead with 1:04 remaining.
Chris McIntosh scored with 51.8 seconds left for the Bears, but missed a free throw.
The Bobcats would turn the ball over, but Southwest could not convert and JCJC secured the win.
Stevens was 8-of-9 from the field and also grabbed 11 rebounds. Maurice Dunlap and Rickey Holden each had four assists, while Robertson had three steals.
JCJC was 27-of-54 from the field (3-of-14 from 3-point range) and 16-of-22 from the free throw line.
Baker led the Bears with 16 points, while Thompson added 14 and Miller finished with 12.
JCJC will go to Utica to face Hinds at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. 
Southwest hosts East Central on Monday.
 
MEN
Thursday's game
Ellisville
A.B. Howard Gymnasium
Jones County 73, Southwest 68
SOUTHWEST (9-5, 4-2) – Bryce Baker 16, Emanuel Thompson 14, Terrell Miller 12, Lafayette Rutledge 8, James Hawthorne 4, Chris McIntosh 4, Guy Johnson 4, LeDerrius Simmons 3, Mario Doyle 3, Ben Howze 0.
JONES COUNTY (9-4, 4-2) – Bruce Stevens 18, Christian Robertson 17, Andre Johnson 10, Tristin Walley 9, Rickey Holden 5, Maurice Dunlap 4, Xavier Howard 4, Albert Goss 4, David Davis 2, Davin Powell 0, Zebedee Rice 0, Emetric Fells 0.
Southwest                 25 43 – 68                
Jones County            36 37 – 73