Lady Eagles Upset No. 18 Jones Lady Bobcats, Men Lose Close Game

MCC Lady Eagles-92
Jones Co.- 85

Hilary Allen was hoping that his Meridian Community College basketball team could shake off a tough loss last Thursday and bounce back.

He got his wish.

The Lady Eagles overcame a seven-point deficit in the final 6 minuets and defeated No.18 ranked Jones County Junior College 92-85 Monday at Bobcat Gym.

“No question about it, we needed this one,” Allen said.

“We lost a close one to a good ECCC team in overtime and JCJC battled ECCC right before that (an 81-80 JCJC win). That just tells you what this league is about. We are all going to battle and have one or two or three-point ball games.”

“This was a huge victory for us to come on the road and get a victory.”

Meridian was in control early, taking a 16-6 lead with 15:47 left when Anesia McBride scored. Jones fought back and took a 20-18 lead with 11:29 left when Pauline Love scored.

But the Lady Eagles then grabbed the momentum. They went on a 29-11 run over the next 7 minuets, taking a 47-31 lead with 4:22 left in the half when Hilal Yildrim drained a 3-pointer from the left wing.

MCC was up 54-43 at the half, but Jones came out strong in the second half. Kelsey Hopkins converted a 3-point play to put the Lady Bobcats ahead 66-64 with 8:52 left. And Love’s basket at the 5:50 mark gave Jones a 78-71 lead.

But the Lady Eagles came charging back.

MCC’s NaDosha Strickland put the visitors ahead for good when she canned a pair of free throws at the 2:46 mark to make it 84-82. Jones got within 85-86 at the 1:21 mark. But MCC converted a field goal and made 4-of-6 free throws down the stretch to clinch the win.

Strickland led MCC, 9-5 overall and 2-1 in the division, with 24 points.

Yildrim had 16, Carla Latham, McBride and Zirconia Hopkins added 13 each.

Jones Co.- 82
MCC Eagles- 79

Kyle Roane felt a sense of relief Monday night.

“Winning cures a lot of ills,” said Jones Junior College head coach Kyle Roane, after watching his Bobcats beat the Meridian Community College Eagles, 82-79, here at Bobcat Gym.

The victory improves Jones to 2-11 overall and 1-2 in the South Division.

In the women’s game, the Lady Eagles knocked off the No. 18 Lady Bobcats, 92-85.

Meridian hosts Co-Lin on Thursday, while Jones travels to Gulf Coast.

Roane said his Bobcats have continued to work hard and give solid effort on the court.

“We came back from the holiday break and had two real tough defeats on the road,” he said.

“We basically went back and had a basketball camp. I thought we took a step forward against Hinds Thursday (a 74-64 loss) where we led for 35 minutes. Tonight, it worked out.

“We just kept taking steps forward. This was huge for our guys and I’m proud for them.”

Meridian got out to a solid start. The Eagles took a 29-16 lead with 9:06 left in the first half when Dexter LeFlore canned a 3-pointer. MCC took its longest lead of the night at 38-24 with 3:05 left in the half when LeFlore nailed another trey.

Jones trimmed the lead to 38-32, but LeFlore was credited with a tap-in at the buzzer to give MCC a 40-32 lead at intermission.

“That tip gave them the momentum back,” said Roane.

But Jones roared back in the second half.

The Bobcats took their first lead since the opening minutes when Marcus Crockrum hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 55-53 with 11:07 remaining. MCC tied the game at 61-61 with 7:06 left when Bay Springs’ Regis Huddleston scored.

However, Bay Springs’ freshman LaBarton Jones responded with a 3-pointer for the Bobcats to give the hosts the lead for good, 64-61 with 6:53 left. Another Jones 3-pointer with 3:56 left gave the Bobcats their longest lead of the night at 74-65.

Both MCC teams will be back in action Thursday night at home v. Co-Lin CC.