Men's Basketball | 3/21/2017 10:40:00 PM

HUTCHINSON, Kansas – The 9th-seeded Jones County Junior College Bobcats led by 11 points with just over eight minutes left in the first half against 8^th-seeded Northwest Florida.
But the Raiders proved to be too much in the end and defeated JCJC 91-79 here Tuesday afternoon in round two of the NJCAA Division I National Tournament at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
JCJC head coach Rahim Lockhart said the Bobcats had their chances.
"We played OK in the first half, but we left a lot of opportunities on the table," he said. "You have to give Northwest a lot of credit. They did a good job of weathering the storm and game-planning for us.
"At this level, regardless of how great a team you think you are, you have to take advantage of when it's your time to take advantage."
JCJC ends the year at 29-2, which is a school-record for wins. The 2014 national championship was 28-5.
Northwest Florida, 28-3, advances to the quarterfinals and will face top-seeded San Jacinto-Central (Texas), a school that is phasing out most of its athletics programs, including men's basketball, after the 2018 season.
The Bobcats came out strong and took a 14-7 lead with 13:18 left in the first half when David Davis (Purvis) made a free throw.
They stretched the lead to 29-18 with 8:08 remaining when Marsellis Purvis (Brooklyn, New York) scored inside.
But the tide turned in favor of the Raiders after that, as they outscored JCJC 18-7 the rest of the half.
After Tristin Walley (Hattiesburg) scored on a drive to the goal with five seconds to play, Northwest Florida's Jared Wilson-Frame made a halfcourt shot at the buzzer to tie the score at 36-36 at halftime.
That seemed to spark the Raiders as they opened the second half on a 27-11 run and took their longest lead at 63-47 with 12:11 left when Wilson-Frame made a free throw.
The Bobcats fought back and closed the margin to 68-59 with 5:13 remaining when Rickey Holden (Laurel) made two free throws.
But the Bobcats would get no closer.
Davis led the Bobcats with 25 points. Holden had 18 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. Bruce Stevens (Bay Springs) had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Leito Holloway (Charlotte, North Carolina) finished with 10 points.
"We just wanted to take it to the rim and try to draw some fouls," Davis said. "But everything did not go as planned."
Lockhart said Davis epitomizes what junior college can do for a player.
"Any Division I coach looking for a guy that can score….DC Davis is a bigtime scorer," he said. "I've been holding him back all year. I've been playing him only 20 or 22 minutes a game. If he played 30 minutes a game, he would get 30 points.
"He could have gone Division I out of high school, but he felt like he wasn't quite ready. DC has character and athletic ability."
Raiders' head coach Steve DeMeo was impressed with the Bobcats.
"Jones County is a very good team and they are well-coached. They hit some threes and got very aggressive early," he said. "They've got one of the best bigmen in the country in Stevens. He killed us inside in the first half, so we made some adjustments."
Ron Freeman led six Raiders in double figures with 19 points. Wilson-Frame added 17, Jeromy Rodriguez had 16 points and 16 rebounds, Daryl Edwards had 14 points, Malik Petteway had 11 and Andres Feliz had 10.
Northwest Florida outrebounded JCJC, 53-46.
"Rebounding was big," Lockhart said. "They got a man down there – Rodriguez – I want to check his birth certificate. He was a load down there. He gave them second and third chances inside. Even when he did not get a rebound, he was occupying two people and another guy would get a rebound."
JCJC was 29-of-76 from the field (8-of-27 from 3-point range) for 38 percent. The Bobcats were 13-of-18 from the free throw line.
Northwest Florida was 30-of-75 from the floor (11-of-28 from3-point range) for 40 percent. They were 20-of-32 from the free throw line.
The Raiders outscored Jones in the paint, 34-30, and had 18 fastbreak points, compared to nine for JCJC.
The Bobcats had 13 players from Mississippi on its roster. The Raiders have just three from Florida, to go along with three from California, two each from Connecticut and the Dominican Republic and one each from Missouri, France and New Zealand.
Lockhart said prep basketball in Mississippi is overlooked.
"It's severely underrated," he said. "When kids were able to go pro directly out of high school, Mississippi had the most per capita. You look at Monta Ellis, Travis Outlaw, Jonathan Bender and Al Jefferson. I could on and on and on. Mississippi is full of talent, not only in basketball, but in all sports.
"Look at football. Walter Payton. Brett Favre. Steve McNair. We are talking about all-time greats. Mississippi may not get the credit out loud, but if you look at the numbers, it's obvious."
Overall, it was a tough way to end the season for JCJC.
But an emotional Lockhart said he would never forget this group of Bobcats.
"I thank God for giving me the opportunity to coach this group of guys," he said. "I've always wondered how a coach could cry over basketball. I've never been one to just cry after a game and I'm refusing to cry now, but I understand now.
"This team has been with me over the worst part of my life. My grandmother passed away in December of 2015 and it was during our season. There were some days I did not want to go to work or get out of bed. But I just remember the spirit and the love these guys have in their hearts, not just for the game, but for everything. These guys are just great kids. And I needed that love they had and they helped me become a better person."
 

NJCAA Division I Tournament

Hutchinson, Kansas
Hutchinson Sports Arena
Tuesday's game
Northwest Florida 91, Jones County 79
JONES COUNTY (79) –  David Davis 25, Rickey Holden 18, Bruce Stevens 12, Leito Holloway 10, Tristin Walley 4, Marsellis Purvis 4, Enrique Milton 2, Xavier Howard 2, Maurice Dunlap 2, Andre Tieu 0.
NORTHWEST FLORIDA (91) – Ron Freeman 19, Jared Wilson-Frame 17, Jeromy Rodriguez 16, Daryl Edwards 14, Malik Petteway 11, Andres Feliz 10, P.J. Bruce 2, Karim Ezzedine 2, Joe Cook-Green 0, Teehjay Bogan 0, Andrew Gordon 0.
Jones County (29-2)                    36 43 – 79
Northwest Florida (28-3)             36 55 – 91
 
 

2017 NJCAA Division I Men's Tournament

Hutchinson, Kansas
Hutchinson Sports Arena
 
Monday's results
Game 1, Connors State (OK) 96, Spartanburg Methodist (SC) 90
Game 2, Jones County 106, vs. Caldwell Tech (NC) 78
Game 3, Panola (TX) 77, Shelton State (AL) 65
Game 4, Northern Oklahoma-Enid 95, Southern Idaho 90
Game 5, St. Petersburg (FL) 70, Highland (IL) 53
Game 6, Gillette (WY) 83, Walters State (TN) 61
Tuesday's results
Game 7, Motlow State (TN) 78, Coffeyville (KS) 59
Game 8, Monroe College (NY) 70, Indian Hills (IA) 64
Game 9, San Jacinto-Central (TX) 115, Connors State (OK) 77
Game 10, Northwest Florida 91, Jones County 79
Game 11, South Plains (TX) 88, Panola (TX) 84
Game 12, Vincennes (IN) 82, Northern Oklahoma-Enid 76
Wednesday's games
Game 13, Hutchinson (KS) vs. St. Petersburg (FL), noon
Game 14, Odessa (TX) vs. Gillette (WY), 2 p.m.
Game 15, Georgia Highlands vs. Motlow State (TN), 6 p.m.
Game 16, Eastern Florida vs. Monroe College (NY), 8 p.m.
Thursday's games
Game 17, San Jacinto-Central (TX) vs. Northwest Florida, noon
Game 18, Game 13 winner vs. Game 14 winner, 2 p.m.
Game 19, South Plains (TX) vs. Vincennes (IN), 6 p.m.
Game 20, Game 15 winner vs. Game 16 winner, 8 p.m.
Friday's games
Game 21, Game 17 winner vs. Game 18 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 22, Game 19 winner vs. Game 20 winner, 8 p.m.
Saturday's games
Game 23, Game 21 loser vs. Game 22 loser, 5 p.m.
Game 24, Championship, Game 21 winner vs. Game 22 winner, 7 p.m.