POPLARVILLE – Meloney Thames (Choctaw Central) made a driving shot at the goal with 2.5 seconds to play to lift Jones College to a 65-63 victory over Coahoma in the championship game of the MACCC Tournament here Thursday night at Marvin R. White Coliseum.

It's Jones' sixth conference championship in eight seasons and 10th in program history.
 
Bobcat coach Missy Bilderback said Thames wanted to be in control in that situation.
 
"Mel was coming off a great game yesterday and had been making plays all night," Bilderback said. "She wanted the ball in that moment and she just made a great play."
 
Jones led 63-57 with just over two minutes to play, but Coahoma came back and tied it at 63-63 with 27 seconds left on a layup by Elishia Wilson.
 
The Bobcats called timeout, advanced the ball and set up the game-winning play for Thames, who was able to convert.
 
After Thames' basket, Coahoma called timeout. The Tigers got the ball inbounds to Ashanti Backus, who misfired on a 3-pointer at the buzzer in front of the teams' bench.
 
Bilderback said the Bobcats, who had lost four out of five games entering the tournament, persevered and never panicked heading into the postseason.
 
"It's been a tough year with injuries and Covid and we've lost some really good players," she said. "But at the same time, we have a really good team and we talked about if you work hard and do the right things – you're going to be hit with adversity – but the key is to fight through it. That's what I'm proud of and they just stayed the course and continued to fight. 
 
"We just knew something good was ahead. Thankfully, we are playing our best basketball right now."
 
Thursday's game was close throughout.
 
Coahoma's biggest lead was 9-2 in the first quarter and the Tigers would lead 16-14 after the opening period. Jones would come back to lead 31-28 at halftime and held a 47-45 advantage entering the final quarter.
 
The game was tied 55-55 with just over seven minutes to play. The Bobcats went on an 8-2 spurt and took a 63-57 lead with 3:19 remaining on an Arianna Patton (Meridian) layup.
 
That set up the game's final thrilling seconds.
 
Bilderback said winning the title is a tribute to her team.
 
"I'm just really excited for our players," she said. "They have battled all year. It's been an interesting year with ups and downs. Just to be able to finish this thing from a standpoint of them being able to win a championship and just to see them be able to celebrate together is pretty special."
 
Thames, who played the entire 40 minutes, led Jones with 22 points. She had 26 points in the 77-49 semifinal win over Northwest on Wednesday. Nakyah Jones (Mobile, Alabama) was critical to Jones' success, scoring 10 points and pulling down 10 rebounds to go along with six blocks off the bench. Jordan Clark (South Jones) had a solid all-around game with nine points, four rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
 
Wilson had 26 points to lead Coahoma with Tiara Abron scoring 12 and Backus adding 10. Nakia Cheatham had nine points and nine rebounds.
 
The Bobcats made 26-of-66 shots from the field for 39 percent, 3-of-14 3-pointers for 21 percent and 10-of-14 free throws for 71 percent. Coahoma hit 25-of-71 shots for 35 percent, 3-of-20 3-pointers for 15 percent and 10-of-11 free throws for 91 percent.
 
Coahoma outrebounded Jones, 43-42. The Bobcats committed 10 turnovers and the Tigers had 11. Each team had 15 assists.
 
Jones outscored Coahoma 24-6 in bench points and the Tigers had a 36-34 edge on points in the paint.
 
The Bobcats, 18-7, will now host East Mississippi at 5 p.m. on Monday at A.B. Howard Gymnasium in the opening round of the MACCC Tournament. Jones is the sixth seed and EMCC is the 11th seed.
 
Bilderback is looking forward to defending the region championship.
 
"The challenge now is to get our focus and get ready to go," she said. "The good thing is we are coming off a lot of momentum and we are five-time defending region champions. So, it still goes through us right now."
 
Coahoma, 19-6, will host the winner of Saturday's Hinds at Mississippi Delta play-in game on Monday in their regional opener. The Tigers are the No. 3 seed in Region 23.