SUMMIT – The 10th-ranked Jones County Junior College Bobcats avenged their only loss of the season with a 78-69 win over Southwest Mississippi here Monday night at Holmes Gymnasium.
It was the Bobcats' seventh straight victory.
That gives the Bobcats a 19-1 overall record and a 9-1 division mark. JCJC now has a two-game lead over Southwest and Mississippi Gulf Coast with just three games remaining in the regular season. The South Division men's champion will host the MACJC Tournament Feb. 27-March 2.
A 10-2 run in the final two minutes of the first half proved to be crucial to JCJC's win.
The Bears jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the game's first two minutes before the Bobcats battled back.
A
Bruce Stevens (Bay Springs) layup at 14:00 gave JCJC a 14-11 lead. The Bears took their final lead of the game at 15-14 when Emanuel Thompson made a 15-footer with 13:15 showing.
Jones then outscored Southwest 13-5 over the next eight minutes and took a 27-20 lead with 4:52 left when Stevens made a free throw. The Bears came back and tied the game at 28-28 when Rodrick Sikes made a free throw with 2:39 left.
But the Bobcats closed the half strong and took a 38-30 lead into the break when they came up with a steal and
Rickey Holden (Laurel) passed to
Xavier Howard (Pearl), who scored just before the buzzer sounded.
The Bobcats maintained the lead throughout the second half.
They took a 48-37 lead with 13:04 left on a pair of
Tristin Walley (Hattiesburg) free throws. Walley hit two more throws with 8:46 remaining to give the Bobcats their longest lead of the game at 62-47.
The Bears fought back and pulled within 66-60 with 5:43 to play on a James Hawthorne free throw, but that was as close as they would get.
Leito Holloway (Charlotte, North Carolina), Holden and
David Davis (Purvis) all made 3-pointers down the stretch to seal the victory.
Stevens led the Bobcats with 16 points, Holden had 15, Davis had 11 and Walley added 10.
Antonio Cowart Jr. topped the Bears with 15 points, Hawthorne had 14 and Sikes and Guy Johnson finished with 12 each.
Southwest falls to 14-6 overall, 8-3 in the division.
The Bears had beaten JCJC 97-92 on Jan. 19.
The Bobcats visit Mississippi Gulf Coast for a 7 p.m. game on Thursday.
Southwest will entertain Copiah-Lincoln on Thursday.
Monday's game
Summit
Holmes Gymnasium
MEN
Jones County 78, Southwest 69
Jones County (19-1, 10-1) 38 40 – 78
Southwest (14-6, 8-3) 30 39 – 69
JONES COUNTY (78) – Bruce Stevens 16,
Rickey Holden 15,
David Davis 11,
Tristin Walley 10,
Leito Holloway 6,
Andre Tieu 6,
Xavier Howard 6,
Marsellis Purvis 4,
Maurice Dunlap 3,
Enrique Milton 1,
Omar Steele 0.
SOUTHWEST (69) – Antonio Cowart Jr. 15, James Hawthorne 14, Guy Johnson 12, Rodrick Sikes 12, Bryce Baker 7, Emanuel Thompson 3, Mike Parks Jr. 2, Mario Doyle 2, Jeremy Harrell 2, Sean Smith 0.
