Men's Basketball | 3/10/2017 12:38:00 AM
CLINTON – The No. 8 Jones County Junior College Bobcats used a 22-0 run late in the first half and early in the second half to overcome a 10-point deficit and defeat Southwest, 72-66, here Thursday night in the Region 23 Tournament semifinals in the A.E. Wood Coliseum on the campus of Mississippi College.
The JCJC men face Northeast at 7:30 p.m. on Friday for the championship. The Tigers defeated Mississippi Gulf Coast 87-73 in the other semifinal contest.
The contest will air on
www.jcjc.tv.
The winner of the Region 23 Tournament will head to Hutchinson, Kansas, for the NJCAA Division I National Tournament March 20-25.
JCJC took its first lead vs. the Bears at 11-10 with 15:56 left in the first half on a
Leito Holloway (Charlotte, North Carolina) 3-pointer.
But the lead was short-lived and Southwest would take a 28-19 lead with 10:18 left when Rodrick Sikes made a 3-pointer. The Bears would take their longest lead of the night at 35-25 with 7:04 left when Antonio Cowart, Jr., scored.
But the Bears would not score again the rest of the half.
A
Rickey Holden (Laurel) layup tied the game at 35-35 with 4:59 left and a
David Davis (Purvis) 3-pointer at 2:45 gave Jones a 43-35 halftime lead.
Another Davis 3-pointer with 18:54 left ended the 22-0 run and gave Jones a 47-35 lead. The Bears went 8:37 without scoring a point.
The Bobcats took their longest lead of the game at 52-39 when Davis scored with 17:29 to play.
But the Bears would use a 15-6 run and cut the lead to 58-54 with 7:49 left when Sikes made a 3-pointer. Jones would then extend the lead and take a 68-58 lead with 1:14 left when Holden scored.
Guy Johnson scored for the Bears with 24.6 seconds to play to make it 71-66, but they would get no closer.
Davis and Holden carried the load for the Bobcats. Davis had 24 points, including five 3-pointers, and Holden finished with 23.
The Bobcats are 27-1 and have won 15 straight games.
Sikes led the Bears, 18-9, with 25 points. Johnson added 12 and Cowart finished with 10.
Southwest handed JCJC its only loss of the season, 97-92 on Jan. 19 in Ellisville.
Region 23 Tournament
Thursday's game
Clinton
A.E. Wood Coliseum
MEN
Jones County 72, Southwest 66
Southwest (18-9) 35 31 – 66
Jones County (27-1) 43 39 – 72
SOUTHWEST (66) – Rodrick Sikes 25, Guy Johnson 12, Antonio Cowart Jr. 10, Mike Parks Jr. 8, Bryce Baker 4, Mario Doyle 3, James Hawthorne 2, Emmanuel Thompson 2, Sean Smith 0, Jeremy Harrell 0, Howard Smith 0.
JONES COUNTY (72) –
David Davis 24,
Rickey Holden 23,
Leito Holloway 7,
Maurice Dunlap 7,
Enrique Milton 4,
Bruce Stevens 3,
Tristin Walley 2,
Marsellis Purvis 2,
Xavier Howard 0,
Omar Steele 0.
Region 23 Tournament
Clinton
Mississippi College
A.E. Wood Coliseum
MEN
Wednesday's results
Game 1, Mississippi Gulf Coast 88, Southern-Shreveport (Louisiana) 81
Game 2, Northeast 70, East Central 64
Game 3, Southwest 62, Baton Rouge CC (Louisiana) 61
Game 4, Jones County 78, Holmes 54
Thursday's results
Game 5, Northeast 87, Mississippi Gulf Coast 73
Game 6, Jones County 72, Southwest 66
Friday's game
Game 7, Championship, Jones County vs. Northeast, 7:30 p.m.
