ELLISVILLE – No. 22 Jones College made a gallant rally, but came up just short vs. No. 9 East Mississippi.
 
The Lions led 59-34 with 12:33 remaining and 69-49 with 5:43 to play. An 18-2 run got the Bobcats with 71-67 with 2:08 on the clock, but EMCC would survive and post a 77-73 victory here Tuesday night at A.B. Howard Gymnasium.
 
The Bobcats fall to 11-3 overall and 3-3 in the MACCC. The Lions, winners of nine straight, are now 12-2 overall and 5-0 in conference play.
 
Ashton Campbell (Forrest County AHS) topped the Bobcats with 27 points and also had seven rebounds. Calvin Temple (Center Hill) finished with 13 points. Caleb McGill had 11 points and six rebounds and Lovell Smith (Center Hill) had 11 points. Cowandric Samuel (Jackson Callaway) topped the team with nine rebounds.
 
Blake Butler led EMCC with 16 points, Kevin Henry and Danny Washington each had 14 points and Jakorie Smith added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Jones never led in the game as EMCC scored the game's first five points. After a Jabari Bowman (Warren Central) free throw cut the lead to 19-14, the Lions scored 12 straight points and took a 31-14 lead with 5:19 showing when Washington made two free throws.
 
EMCC led 43-26 at halftime. The Lions were 16-of-29 from the floor in the first half for 55 percent, while Jones was just 9-of-37 for 24 percent.
 
Smith's 3-pointer gave EMCC its longest lead at 59-34 with 12:33 left.
 
Trailing 69-49, McGill's layup started a 16-0 run that cut the lead to 69-65 with 2:30 remaining on a Temple 3-pointer.
 
The Bobcats were down 71-67 with 1:09 to play and had ball possession, but Temple misfired on a 3-point attempt. EMCC stretched the advantage to 76-67 with 27.2 seconds to play on a Henry free throw.
 
After Campbell made a 3-pointer, Butler made a free throw to make it 77-70 with 12 seconds to play. Campbell then made another 3-pointer and was fouled on the attempt. He missed the free throw, but EMCC lost the ball out of bounds. 
 
After a missed 3-pointer by Campbell, the Bobcats turned the ball over as time expired.
 
Jones ended the game by making 26-of-69 from the floor for 38 percent, 6-of-22 3-pointers for 27 percent and 15-of-23 from the free throw line for 65 percent. The Lions were 28-of-60 from the field for 47 percent, 7-of-20 from beyond the arc for 35 percent and 14-of-20 from the foul line for 70 percent. EMCC outrebounded Jones, 43-41. The Bobcats committed 13 turnovers, compared to 15 for the Lions.
 
EMCC outscored Jones 36-30 on points in the paint. The Bobcats outscored the Lions 16-7 on fast break points and 16-11 on points off turnovers.
 
Jones will travel to Holmes for a 6 p.m. contest on Thursday. EMCC hosts Mississippi Delta on Thursday.