ELLISVILLE – Jones College led East Mississippi 36-35 at halftime here Monday night at A.B. Howard Gymnasium.
 
But the Bobcats had no answer for the Lions in the second half. EMCC outscored Jones 56-36 in the final 20 minutes and beat Jones, 91-72.
 
The Bobcats fall to 19-5 overall, 6-2 in the MACCC. The Lions are now 11-11 and 4-3.
 
Trailing 15-9, Jones went on a 17-2 run and took a 26-17 lead with 6:51 left in the first half when Jylan Howze (Gulfport) made a free throw. EMCC would outscore the Bobcats 18-10 the remainder of the half.
 
EMCC continued its surge in the second half. A 3-pointer by Ashten Michael ended a 20-4 run and gave the Lions a 55-40 lead with 12:44 remaining in the second half. A Hunter McCutcheon 3-pointer put EMCC ahead 66-46 with 9:18 left.
 
The closest Jones would get after that was 79-69 with 4:01 to play when Dimp Pernell (Horn Lake) stole the ball and made a layup. 
 
Ky Pernell (Horn Lake) played all 40 minutes and led the Bobcats with 26 points and five assists. Malik Franklin (Vicksburg) was the only other Bobcat in double figures with 20 points. He added three steals. Trey Smith (Terry) led Jones in rebounds with eight.
 
Nick Walker led EMCC with 27 points and 13 rebounds. McCutcheon added 19, Tremaine Dixon Jr. had 16 and Andrew Mason had 11. Dixon had five assists and three steals.
 
Jones was 24-of-65 from the floor for 37 percent, 11-of-19 from beyond the arc for 38 percent and 13-of-16 from the free throw line for 81 percent. EMCC was 29-of-60 from the field for 48 percent, 10-of-23 from the 3-point line for 44 percent and 23-of-32 from the foul line for 72 percent. 
 
EMCC outscored the Bobcats 36-26 on points in the paint and outrebounded Jones, 45-34. Jones had 18 turnovers and the Lions had 16.
 
The Bobcats travel to Holmes for a 7:30 p.m. game on Thursday. EMCC hosts Mississippi Delta on Thursday.