MERIDIAN – A strong half effort boosted Jones College to its third straight win here Thursday evening at Graham Gymnasium.
 
Leading 39-33 at halftime, the Bobcats outscored Meridian 49-23 in the second half en route to an 88-56 victory over Meridian.
 
The Bobcats are now 13-3 overall and 5-3 in the MACJC South Division.
 
SharDarrion Allen (Raymond) posted his eighth double-double of the season with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Casey Smith Jr. (Columbus) had 13 points and five assists and Tradavis Thompson (Raymond) added 11 points. Kenneth Rogers (Starkville) and Kevin Charles (Metairie, Louisiana) each had five rebounds. Rogers and Sai Fisher (New Orleans, Louisiana) both had four assists.
 
Jones never trailed in the contest. 
 
Allen's layup at 9:13 of the first half gave the Bobcats the lead for good at 23-21. A pair of free throws by Rogers with four seconds left gave Jones its six-point halftime margin. 
 
The Bobcats took control quickly in the second half. A 3-pointer by Thompson capped a 23-10 run and gave Jones a 62-43 lead with 11:51 remaining. 
 
John Rawls (East Marion) made a free throw with 5:07 left put the Bobcats ahead 79-49. The Bobcats' longest lead would be at the end of the game.
 
The Bobcats had an exceptional shooting night. Jones was 37-of-63 from the field (4-of-12 from beyond the arc) for 59 percent. The Bobcats were 10-of-14 from the free throw line. 
 
Jones outrebounded the Eagles, 39-29. The Bobcats also had 21 assists.
 
Alvarez Powell topped Meridian with 18 points and Justin Brown added 10.
 
The Bobcats will be at home vs. Hinds for a 7:30 p.m. game on Monday. The contest will be streamed at JCJC.TV.
 
Meridian, 7-10 overall and 2-6 in the division, travels to Southwest on Monday.