CLINTON – Jones College took the lead for good midway through the second half and defeated East Mississippi 73-65 Saturday evening in the Region 23 Tournament semifinals at A.E. Wood Coliseum on the campus of Mississippi College.
 
The Bobcats, who entered the tournament as the No. 8 seed, will play for the tournament championship at 5 p.m. Sunday against Meridian. The Eagles defeated Coahoma 80-72 in the other semifinal contest.

Jones' last region final appearance was during the 2019-20 season. Their last region championship was during the 2016-17 season over Northeast.  
 
The winner of the championship game receives an automatic bid to the NJCAA Division I Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas, beginning March 20.
 
With the game tied at 53-53, Treylan Smith (Petal) and Ashton Campbell (Forrest County AHS) hit back-to-back three-pointers to put the Bobcats ahead 59-53 with 7:26 remaining. Jay Barnes (Oak Grove) capped the 8-0 run with a layup to give Jones a 61-53 lead with 6:05 to play.
 
Terrell Dixon's dunk got the Lions within 61-59 with 4:35 left. But Barnes made a free throw and Smith hit another three-pointer to put Jones ahead 65-59 with 3:15 remaining.
 
Blake Butler's jumper pulled EMCC to within 65-61 with 2:59 to play, but Caleb McGill (Petal) answered with another three-pointer to give Jones a 68-61 lead with 2:29 to play.
 
The Bobcats made 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
 
In the first half, EMCC took its largest lead of the game at 25-19 on a three-pointer by Andrew Mason with 9:59 remaining. The Lions were up 33-28, but Jones rallied to take a 34-33 halftime advantage.
 
Campbell led Jones with 20 points. Smith added 13, Barnes had 12 points and 10 assists and McGill had 11 points. McGill had seven rebounds, Barnes had six and Campbell and Smith had five each. 
 
Butler had 19 points and seven rebounds for EMCC. Dixon scored 11 and Mason and Kevin Henry scored 10 points each. Jacob Reese pulled down 16 rebounds for the Lions.
 
Jones hit 24-of-53 shots for 45 percent, 11-of-25 from beyond the arc for 44 percent and made 14-of-21 free throws. EMCC connected on 24-of-60 from the floor for 40 percent, 5-of-25 three-pointers for 20 percent and 12-of-16 foul shots.
 
EMCC outrebounded Jones, 36-35. Jones had 11 turnovers and the Lions had 10. The Bobcats had 18 assists with the Lions getting 11.
 
Jones (17-10) outscored the Lions 26-20 on points in the paint and 11-0 on fast break points.
 
EMCC ends the season at 20-6.