ELLISVILLE – The No. 8 Jones College men's basketball team overcame an 11-point first-half deficit and pulled away late for a 79-67 victory over South Arkansas Tuesday night inside A. B. Howard Gymnasium.
The Bobcats improved to 4-0 on the season and have now won each of their first four games by double figures. Jones led just 35-33 at halftime before shooting 62 percent in the second half and outscoring South Arkansas 44-34 over the final 20 minutes.
FIRST HALF
South Arkansas (1-3) controlled much of the opening portion of the game and built its largest lead after a Jaelen Block-Hill (Frisco, TX) basket made it 18-7 with 11:58 remaining.
The Stars later matched that 11-point advantage at 25-14 on a Tim Bates (Memphis, TN) 3-pointer with 9:12 to play.
Jones responded with its best stretch of the half.
Wiggy Ball (Flowood; Louisiana-Monroe) and Jaden Tate (Starkville) knocked down consecutive 3-pointers to trim the deficit to five before David Washington (Starkville; Holmes CC) scored twice in transition and Bob Dickson (Southhaven; Whitehaven) threw down a fast-break dunk to pull Jones within 27-26.
Dickson then converted two free throws to give the Bobcats their first lead, 28-27, with 4:22 remaining. Ball followed with a basket off a turnover, and Nick Oliver (Marietta Ga.; Eastern Florida State) scored inside as Jones completed an 18-2 run to take a 32-27 advantage.
South Arkansas briefly regained a 33-32 lead with 1:41 left, but Washington buried a 3-pointer with 29 seconds remaining to send Jones into halftime ahead 35-33.
SECOND HALF
South Arkansas tied the game at 35 on its first possession of the second half, but Jones quickly answered.
Washington scored inside, Traevon Koch (Rochester, Minn.; Gulf Coast State) followed with a basket and free throw, and Wesley Lindsey (Utica; Central Hinds Academy) connected from beyond the arc. Ball then finished in transition to cap a 10-0 response and give Jones a 45-35 lead with 16:02 remaining.
The Stars refused to disappear and used a 9-0 run to get back within 45-44 with 13:33 left.
Jones answered again.
Washington stopped the run with a transition layup before Koch began to take over offensively. The Bobcats rebuilt the margin, and Koch converted a three-point play with 8:39 remaining to give Jones its largest lead of the night at 59-47.
South Arkansas made one final push, cutting the lead to 65-60 with 4:17 left.
Jones closed the door from there.
Dickson scored inside, Washington added another basket and Tate drilled a 3-pointer as the Bobcats pushed the advantage back to 74-62. Koch supplied the exclamation point with two transition baskets over the final 38 seconds, including a dunk that completed the 79-67 victory.
LEADING THE WAY
Koch finished with a game-high 22 points, going 9-of-10 at the free-throw line while adding four rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Washington scored 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting and added three assists.
Lindsey contributed 10 points and six rebounds, while Tate provided 10 points, four assists and three steals off the bench.
Dickson controlled the interior with a game-high 12 rebounds and four blocked shots to go along with six points. Ball added seven points, four assists and three steals.
Jones shot 51 percent from the floor for the game and held South Arkansas to 33 percent. The Bobcats also produced 46 points in the paint, 31 fast-break points and 28 points off turnovers.
UP NEXT
The Bobcats return to the hardwood Thursday, Nov. 12 for a road match against the Wildcats of Bishop State. Tip-off in Mobile, Alabama, is set for 6 p.m.
