EMCC Lions finish 20-6 after falling to Jones in NJCAA Region 23 semifinals

CLINTON – The fourth-seeded Lions of East Mississippi Community College fell victim to the hot three-point shooting of Jones College during Saturday's 73-65 semifinal-round setback in the NJCAA Region 23 Men's Basketball Tournament played at A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus.

EMCC and Jones both attempted 25 three-pointers in the contest, but the Bobcats made six more treys than the Lions, including seven made triples in the second half to secure the eight-point victory. The postseason meeting also proved to be the rubber game in the season series, as both teams prevailed on their respective home courts during the regular season (58-49 JC on Dec. 8 & 77-76 EMCC on Jan. 23).

The opening 20 minutes of play featured nine lead changes, with the Lions holding the largest lead of the first half. Midway through the opening half, EMCC freshman Andrew Mason's consecutive three-pointers put the Lions up by six points (25-19).

The Bobcats answered with an 8-0 run to move back ahead, 27-25, with eight minutes remaining in the half. After EMCC scored five straight points to lead by that many (33-28) a little later, Jones then scored the last six points of the half on Treylan Smith's three-point play and Samarion Grant's three-point shot to take a slim 34-33 edge into halftime.

Following the break, Jones' Ashton Campbell scored 10 of his game-high 20 points, including a pair of three-point baskets, during the early portion of the second half to help the Bobcats get out to a seven-point advantage.

The Louisville, Kentucky tandem of Blake Butler and DJ Avery combined to score EMCC's next 15 points during an eight-minute stretch that saw the Lions force a pair of deadlocks. With the score tied at 53-53 with eight minutes left in the contest, Jones had a two-minute, 8-0 surge that included made treys by Smith and Campbell to put the Bobcats on top, 61-53, at the 6:05 mark.

The Lions made one more bid to catch the Bobcats by scoring six straight points to cut the deficit to a basket (61-59) with 4:35 left, but Smith answered with another three-pointer for Jones. Following Caleb McGill's third made trey of the game coming at the 2:29 mark, the Bobcats then sealed the win by going 5-of-6 from the charity stripe down the stretch.

Both teams had four players score in double figures. After being held to one made field goal and only five first-half points, EMCC's Butler finished with a team-high 19 points. Terrell Dixon followed with 11 points, while Mason and Kevin Henry added 10 points apiece for head coach Billy Begley's 20-6 EMCC Lions.

Improving to 17-10 overall and advancing to meet No. 7 seed Meridian in Sunday's NJCAA Region 23 men's championship game, eighth-seeded Jones was led by Campbell's 20 points and four made treys. Smith and McGill added 13 and 11 points, respectively, while Jay Barnes registered a double-double with a dozen points and 10 assists for the Bobcats.