By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Mt. Carmel, Ill.---Xavier Cochran (Huron/Ann Arbor, Mich.) and the No. 16 Owens Community College men's basketball team dropped a pair of tough games against some tough competition this weekend in the Wabash Valley Warrior Classic.
Today, Cochran scored a game-high 25 points, but Wabash Valley College drained 15 3-pointers as Owens fell 105-100.
Brandon Wolfe drained three straight shots from long distance to open the game as Wabash Valley took a 9-3 lead. Despite four points from Cochran, Wabash Valley opened up a 21-7 lead with 13:54 left before Dae'Shawn Jackson's (Springfield/Springfield, Ohio) layup ended a 9-0 run.
Shadrick Kimble buried another 3-pointer for Wabash Valley at the 7:43 mark to give his team a 36-18 lead. However, an 8-0 run by Owens calmed the surge for a bit. The run featured a pair of free throws from Jackson, and one 3-pointer apiece from Derrik Jamerson Jr. (Cornerstone/Pontiac, Mich.) and Ty'Rese Searles (Cornerstone/Pontiac, Mich.).
Later, a 6-0 run by Owens pulled them within four with 2:30 left in the half. The run was highlight by a dunk from Cochran, but it was answered by a 7-0 run from Wabash Valley as they eventually took a 49-43 lead into halftime.
The second half saw Owens make several runs to pull close, but Wabash Valley seemed to hit several key 3-pointers to stop runs. Owens was within one on a layup from Charles Penn III (Macomb Dakota/Detroit, Mich.) with 15 minutes left, but Wolfe hit a 3-pointer.
Cochran's free throw with 10:39 left tied the game at 67-all, but Kimble answered with a 3-pointer. Penn III tied the game at 71-all with 8:48 left, but Jajuan Starks converted an old fashioned 3-point play to give Wabash Valley the lead once again.
Wabash Valley led by just one with 7:44 left following a Cochran layup, but a free throw and a 3-pointer from Hank Mathews made it 82-77 with just under seven minutes left. Jamerson Jr. hit a 3-pointer with 4:28 left to pull within three, but Wolfe hit another 3-pointer.
The final dagger came from Kimble, who made a 3-pointer with 2:55 left to give Wabash Valley a 95-87 lead. Moments earlier, a Tony Stallworth (Chandler Park Academy/Detroit, Mich.) 3-pointer had pulled Owens within three.
Owens got as close as four on two occasions down the stretch, but Wabash Valley closed the game out at the foul line.
Cochran led the team with 25 points, but he had plenty of help. Jamerson Jr. added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Searles totaled 14 and a team-high four assists. Stallworth scored 13 to give four of the five Owens starters double figures. Penn III and Jackson each scored 11 off the bench.
For Wabash Valley, Kimble had 21, Ja'Kwan Jones had 19, Wolfe had 18 (all from 3-point range) and Jaylen Beckham had 18 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Jamerson's 21 Not Enough, Owens Can't Recover From Late First Half Run
On Saturday, Jamerson Jr. had 21 points and seven rebounds before fouling out as Owens lost 88-80 to Southeastern Illinois College.
Aside from Jamerson Jr., who went 3-for-5 from the field, Owens struggled offensively in the first half. They shot 8-for-28 (28.6 percent) and trailed 47-31 at halftime.
With 6:37 left in the first half, Tariq Scott (R.J. Reynolds/Winston Salem, N.C.) hit a pair of free throws to pull Owens within 26-24, but Southeastern Illinois closed the half on a 21-7 run, which included scoring the final five points of the half.
In the second half, Cochran (13) and Jamerson Jr. (12) combined for 25 points as Owens outscored Southeastern Illinois by eight, but it wasn't enough.
Owens trailed by as many as 22 with 11 minutes left before starting to chip away. They got as close as seven with just under a minute left on a trio of free throws from Cochran, but Southeastern Illinois made 4-for-4 from the foul line to seal the game.
Aside from Jamerson Jr., Cochran totaled 16 points, while Penn III added 10. Scott and Jackson added eight each off the bench.
Wrap Up
With the losses, Owens is now 2-4 overall. They will look to bounce back with a 7 p.m. home matchup against Northwood University JV on Wednesday before facing No. 1 Schoolcraft College at home on Saturday at 3 p.m.