Men's Basketball | 3/7/2019 12:02:00 AM
CLINTON – It's time for a postseason "Catfight on the Court."
The Jones College Bobcats used a strong second half and whipped East Central 74-54 here Wednesday night in the opening round of the Region 23 Tournament on the campus of Mississippi College.
That puts the Bobcats, 21-6, into a 7 p.m. Thursday match vs. Pearl River in the semifinals. The Wildcats, 23-3, crushed Northeast Mississippi 78-43 in a first-round game. The game will air on www.jcjc.tv.
Jones and PRCC split in the regular season with the Wildcats winning in Poplarville on Jan. 14, 75-68, and the Bobcats winning in Ellisville on Feb. 7, 91-88 in overtime.
Mississippi Gulf Coast will meet Holmes at 5 p.m. in another semifinal game. MGCCC defeated Southern-Shreveport (Louisiana) 78-60 and Holmes surprised MACJC champion East Mississippi, 72-64.
The championship game will be played at 7 p.m. Friday.
The Region 23 champion will advance to the NJCAA Division I Tournament March 18-23 in Hutchinson, Kansas.
The Bobcats were down early to the Warriors, 12-8.
But Jones steadily came back and would take a 28-21 lead with 2:13 left in the first half when
Zachariah Malone (Shady Grove, Louisiana) scored. That would be the score at halftime.
The closest East Central got the rest of the way was 38-34 with 14:15 left when Josh Green scored.
A
Winceton Edwards' (Oak Grove) 3-pointer capped an 11-4 run and gave Jones a 49-38 edge with 9:03 remaining.
The Bobcats picked up the defensive pressure and took a 63-43 lead with 6:15 left when
Michael Williams Jr. (Rayville, Louisiana) scored. ECCC's JaQuarius Smith made a 3-point play at 6:01 to make it 63-48, but that was as close as the Warriors would get.
Jones' biggest lead would be 73-52 when
David Gaines Jr. (Wayne County) scored at 1:45.
David McCoy (Meridian) led the Bobcats with 16 points and
Galen Alexander (Breaux Bridge, Louisiana) added 13. Williams added nine and Malone and Gaines had eight each.
Green was the only player in double figures for the Warriors with 14 points.
East Central ends the year at 13-12.
Region 23 Tournament
Clinton
Mississippi College
A.E. Wood Coliseum
Wednesday's game
MEN
Jones College 74, East Central 54
East Central (13-12) 21 33 – 54
Jones College (21-6) 28 46 – 74
EAST CENTRAL (54) – Josh Green 14, JaQuarius Smith 8, Devin Carter 7, Nick Preyer 6, Marcus Bates 6, Dontavious Smith 4, Haden Boyd 4, Brandon Williams 2, Jonathan Knight 2, Tanner Owen 1.
JONES COLLEGE (74)–
David McCoy 16,
Galen Alexander 13,
Michael Williams Jr. 9,
David Gaines Jr. 8,
Zachariah Malone 8,
Tirus Smith 5,
Winceton Edwards 5,
Sayveon Bumpers 4,
Casey Smith Jr. 4,
Kenneth Rogers 2,
Ladarius Anderson 0,
Brandon Jones 0.
Region 23 Tournament
Clinton
Mississippi College
A.E. Wood Coliseum
MEN
Wednesday's results
Mississippi Gulf Coast 78, Southern-Shreveport 60
Holmes 72, East Mississippi 64
Pearl River 78, Northeast 43
Jones College 74, East Central 54
Thursday's games
5 p.m., Mississippi Gulf Coast vs. Holmes
7 p.m., Pearl River vs. Jones College
Friday's game
7 p.m., Championship
Men's Region 23 champion will play in NJCAA Division I National Tournament March 18-23 in Hutchinson, Kansas
