By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Port Huron, MI---The Express men's basketball team struggled mightily for most of the first half, but made a late first half surge before James Kelly (Pioneer/Ann Arbor, Mich.) just took over the game in the second half to help his team defeat St. Clair County Community College 73-62 on the road.

Owens entered halftime trailing 27-21. They shot only 7-for-26 (26.9%) overall from the field and had 16 turnovers through the first 20 minutes. St. Clair County jumped out to a 10-0 lead as the Express did not score their first points until 14:06 remaining in the half. Owens also trailed 15-3 with 8:15 remaining and 19-5 with 6:23 remaining. The Express then finished the second half on a 16-8 run to cut their deficit to six. The run included four three pointers for Owens.

In the second half, the game was all about Kelly. After finishing the first half with only three points, the freshman forward scored 28 points and went 13-for-14 from the field in the second half. He also had eight rebounds in the half. For the game, Kelly had 31 points, eight rebounds, two assists, three blocks and one steal.

Aside from Kelly, Justin Edmonds (Albion/Albion, Mich.) also picked his game up in the second half. The freshman guard finished with 15 points, five rebounds and three assists. Jerron Jamerson (Washington/South Bend, Ind.) added 11 points, while Jeff Burroughs (Belleville/Ypsilanti, Mich.) had 10 points.

In the second half, Owens outscored St. Clair County 52-35. Additionally, they shot 19-for-33 (57.6%) overall in the half and 11-for-15 (73.3%) from the foul line while only turning the ball over four times. Overall, Owens shot 26-for-59 (44.1%), 7-for-25 (28%) from three point range, and 14-for-19 (73.7%) from the foul line. St. Clair County finished the game 23-for-62 (37.1%) overall, 2-for-11 (18.2%) from three point range, and 14-for-22 (63.6%) from the foul line.

Kelly has now overtaken Edmonds for the team lead in scoring following Tuesday's huge game. Kelly is now averaging 18.9 per game compared to 18 per game for Edmonds. Kelly is also averaging 10.9 rebounds per game.

The Express (8-2) will go on the road again for their next game this Saturday against Glen Oaks Community College. Game time is at 3 p.m. Through their first ten games, the Express are only two wins shy of matching their victory total from last year.