ELLISVILLE – Larissa Hubbard was a major force for Jones College Monday night at A.B. Howard Gymnasium.
 
Hubbard, a 5-foot-11 sophomore forward from Harrison Central, had a big time double-double with 15 points and 23 rebounds to help the Bobcats defeat Lawson State, 68-58.
 
Jones starts the season at 6-0 for the first time since the 2021-22 season.
 
Lawson State scored the game's first basket, but the Bobcats scored the next 12 points, capped by a Hubbard layup, to take a 12-2 lead with 3:00 left in the first quarter. Jones led 16-9 after the first quarter. 
 
Jones took its longest lead of the first half when Anna-Patrice Patterson (Bay Springs) made a free throw with 7:50 left to make it 22-10. The Cougars trimmed the lead to 30-25 at halftime.
 
A Kha'liyah Harris layup got Lawson State within 36-34 with 3:31 left in the third quarter. The Bobcats led 43-40 heading in the final period.
 
The Cougars were down 50-47 with just over six minutes to play when Jones scored 10 straight points to take command. A Lamarah Cleaves (Tupelo) layup with 4:08 remaining gave the Bobcats their longest lead of the night at 60-47.
 
Zharia Leflore (Neshoba Central) also had 15 points for the Bobcats and Jakera Ducksworth (West Jones) added 10. Cleaves finished with nine points, six rebounds and a team-high four assists.
 
Terrin Haynes had 14 points for the Cougars and Breona Walker added 11.
 
Jones shot 38 percent compared to Lawson State who shot 32 percent.
 
The Bobcats outrebounded Lawson State, 52-41, and committed 16 turnovers compared to 21 for the Cougars. 
 
Jones outscored Lawson State 42-20 on points in the paint, 23-3 on points off turnovers, 18-8 on second chance points and 13-6 on fastbreak points. 
 
The Bobcats will host No. 2 Chipola College for a 1 p.m. tipoff on Saturday. Admission is free. The game will air on jcbobcats.com/watch.