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.

Jones shot 50 percent on the night despite a very slow start. 

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.

*stats unavailable for Southwest at time of story