Jones County sweeps Co-Lin
Published 11:30 am Tuesday, February 4, 2014
ELLISVILLE – The Co-Lin Lady Wolves (11-7, 4-5) would find themselves in a very similar situation to their last meeting with the Lady Bobcats (12-6, 6-3). In that contest, a 69-64 Lady Bobcats victory on Dec. 9, Jones built up a big second half lead before the Lady Wolves came storming back behind a full court pressure defense. On Monday night the final score was closer, 70-67, but the outcome was once again in favor of the Jones Lady Bobcats.
Co-Lin was outrebounded by 10 (38-to-28), and shot a dismal 16.7 percent on the night from the 3-point line. Those stats withstanding, the Lady Wolves still had opportunities to send the game to overtime or to snatch a victory away in a game that they never led.
The comeback started with 9:21 remaining in the game and Jones holding a 58-40 lead. Flash-forward a little over nine minutes and the Lady Wolves cut the lead to 68-67 on a slashing lay up by sophomore guard KeKe Collins. Only 23 seconds remained on the game clock and Co-Lin was forced to foul after failing to steal the inbounds pass. Fate would continue to smile on Coach Gwyn Young’s women as Jones could only convert one free throw and Co-Lin would get a chance to tie or take the lead. Down 69-67 with 14 seconds left on the clock, the Lady Wolves would never get a shot off as they committed a turnover and Jones retook possession.
Another missed Jones free throw would give Co-Lin a tying attempt at the buzzer but freshman Claresa Bank’s shot was off and the Lady Bobcats had escaped with the 70-67 victory.
Banks was the only Co-Lin player to score in double figures as she posted a game-high 28 points. Minor and Keyana Miller scored eight points apiece.
For the Lady Bobcats, Starla Daggans led the way with 23 points.
Bobcats 85, Wolves 65
The Wolves (8-10, 4-5) faced a No. 11 ranked Bobcat (16-2, 8-1) team that was coming off of their first division loss on Saturday. The Bobcats used their superior depth to sprint past the Wolves for an 85-65 victory.
Coach Kenny Bizot knew his Wolves would be in for a challenge as they only dressed six players for the game and faced a Bobcat team that has one of the deepest benches in the MACJC. 15 different players saw the court for Jones.
The Wolves hoped to use made shots to slow down the Jones pressure, but instead had their worst shooting night of the season. Co-Lin was an ice cold 3-for-23 from behind the 3-point arc on the night.
Michael Vardaman led Co-Lin with 22 points. LaJustin Anderson scored 12 points and Corey Cox chipped in 11 points for the Wolves. Tylertown product Lorenzo Deans saw his first game action of the season after previously serving as a redshirt practice player. Deans came off the bench to score six points and pull down four rebounds.
Jones was led by Thadddeus Hall with 14 points.
Co-Lin returns to action on Thursday when they travel to Summit to take on the Southwest Bears. The women tip off at 5:30 p.m. with the men’s game to follow. Listen live at www.colinathletics.com or on WMJU 104.3 FM in Brookhaven.