Jones beats Pearl River to reach fourth straight region semifinal

ELLISVILLE — Jones built a 22-point halftime lead and held off a second-half rally by Pearl River to win 89-74 Saturday night at A.B. Howard Gymnasium in the NJCAA Region 23 quarterfinals.

The Bobcats, now 22-9, advance to their fourth consecutive region semifinal, where they will face Southwest on Tuesday at 4 p.m. The semifinals and final will be played at Itawamba Community College in Fulton. Jones is aiming for its third straight region title and a trip to Hutchinson, Kansas, for the national tournament.

Jones opened the game with an 8-8 tie in the first four minutes. A three-pointer from Keron Jackson and another from Dylan Rowe pushed the lead to 14-9. After Pearl River cut the deficit to within a basket, Jones responded with a 10-0 run that extended the lead to double digits. The Bobcats’ lead grew as large as 26 points after a jumper from Rowe with 1:04 remaining in the first half.

In the second half, Pearl River outscored Jones in the first 10 minutes, trimming the lead to 67-57 with 9 minutes, 55 seconds remaining. Jones responded with an And-One from Jay Tyler and seven straight points from Rowe to push the lead back to 18. The Wildcats got no closer than 14 points for the remainder of the game.

Rowe finished with 25 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Tyler scored 22 points with eight assists. Jackson added 14 points, Lindsey 13, and Braylon Barnes 10. Jones shot 50% from the field, compared to 47% for Pearl River. The Wildcats shot 67% in the second half after shooting just 29% in the first.

Pearl River was led by Christian Gilliland with 25 points. Former Bobcat Kamarian Mayfield scored 17. Daijon Leatherman, who had 20 points and 22 rebounds in their regular-season meeting, was held to four points and three rebounds.

Jones has won seven straight region tournament games and is seeking a fourth consecutive regional final appearance.

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