C.J. Jones opened up his game in the second half with 13 of his career-high 17 points coming in that time. He made five three-pointers on seven attempts and had five rebounds overall. Kerry McClahan posted 12 points and seven rebounds to lead the team. Laquavius Cotton led all scorers for Mississippi College with 21 points.
"Our shot selection in the first half was poor and Mississippi College would get the rebounds and we could not stop their transition," says head coach Bert West. "They were so quick and that our defense could not get back and get in front of them. They also out shot us with some good shooting."
With 15:01 left to play in the game, Jaron Joseph capped off an 11-8 run for ETBU that put the Tigers ahead by five, 44-39. ETBU was down two at the half, 33-31, after Monty Grays swooshed in a shot just before the buzzer. Just a minute and a half into the second half, McClahan tied the game at 35 and then Junior Mitchell gave ETBU a two-point lead on a steal and fast-break layup. After MC tie dthe game at 37, ETBU had a 7-2 run for the five-point lead. Joseph, Mitchell, and Justin Felicia all scored in the run. In just five minutes, though, MC had a 25-7 run for a 13-point lead, 66-53. That run took the air out of the sails for ETBU as they could not over com the 13-point lead. They did bring it down to six, 70-64, with 5:04 left on a Clavoisiea Dupree layup but could not get any closer.
ETBU jumped out to a five-point lead in the first half, 7-2, in the first three minutes jumping on MC. MC slowly transitioned the game back to their style in the next nine minutes on a 25-10 run for a 10-point lead, 27-17. ETBU finished the last six minutes on a 14-6 run to trim the lead to two at the half, 33-31. Erby Thompson had six of the 14 points with four free throws made.
ETBU finished shooting just 37 percent from the floor and 35 percent from the arc while making just 13 free throws for 61 percent. MC made 45 percent of their shots, 42 percent from the three-point line, and 73 percent from the foul line. ETBU had one more rebound than MC, 42-41, with both teams turning the ball over 13 times.
ETBU will host Louisiana College on Saturday, January 26th, at 3:00 p.m. in Ornelas Gym. The ETBU Student-Athlete Athletic Advisory Committee is collecting donations for Mission Marshall as a part of the ASC's "Make A Change" Challenge in the next two weeks. They are also collecting warm clothing for the people of Marshall, too, in this time. If you would like to donate please contact advisor Adam Ledyard at aledyard@etbu.edu.