SUMMIT – Jones erased a 16-point first half deficit and had a shot to win it at the buzzer but
Jay Tyler's three-pointer hit front iron to allow Southwest to survive, 87-86, Monday night at the Southwest Basketball Center.
The Bobcats end the regular season 21-9, 10-4 MACCC and will be the No. 3 seed in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament. Southwest, 16-14, 10-4 MACCC, is the No. 2 seed with the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Jones started the game 3-for-15 and fell behind 27-11 at the 8:54 mark of the first half but rallied to within four at halftime, 39-35.
A Tyler floater gave Jones its first lead, 42-41, since early in the first half just minutes into the second period.
Back-and-forth the rest of the way,
Keron Jackson caught fire for Jones with four straight triples. He'd finish with six and a game-high 26 points.
Trailing 80-71 with 5:01 to play, the Cats once again clawed back to tie it at 84-84 on a Keron floater.
After Southwest missed the back-end of a shooting foul, Tyler hit a floater with 40.7 seconds left to give Jones an 86-85 lead.
With the shot clock winding down on the Bears on their offensive possession, a fallback jumper hit front iron, then kicked in with 11 seconds left to help them retake the lead, 87-86.
Jones decided to not call timeout and let the play play out. Tyler got a pretty good look in traffic for a three-pointer to win it, but it just missed front iron.
Jackson had a season-high 26 off the bench, Tyler 24 points,
Dylan Rowe 18 and
Braylon Barnes 10 points and eight boards.
Southwest was led by Courterius Scott's 25 points and Cy Merrett's 20. Merrett was 12 of 14 from the line, Jones as a team shot 20 free throws.
Jones shot 50 percent on the night despite a very slow start. Southwest shot at a 56 percent clip.
The Bobcats will host the winner of 6 Pearl River/11 Copiah-Lincoln on Saturday, March 7 at 6 p.m. in the Region 23 Quarterfinals.
