By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Jackson, Mich.---The No. 16 Owens Community College men's basketball team rallied from an 12 point deficit early in the second half to take a a few leads down the stretch, but Jackson College prevailed in an 87-83 loss on the road tonight.

In the game's first two minutes, it appeared as if Owens could have their way with Jackson as they scored on their first four possessions and held a five point lead on two occasions.

Jackson responded to force a back-and-forth game over the next two and a half minutes.

Xavier Cochran (Huron/Ann Arbor, Mich.), who scored a team-high 17 points, drained his second 3-pointer of the game to give Owens an 18-15 lead with 15:36 left. It would be the final lead for his team, however, for over 25 minutes.

That's because Charles Lawler scored Jackson's next 10 points, added 21 points over the final 15 minutes, and closed the half with 25 points. He led Jackson to a 57-51 first half lead by shooting 8-for-14 from the field and 9-for-11 from the foul line in the first 20 minutes.

For Owens, Cochran scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half on 5-for-9 shooting.

The second half would feature a much lower scoring game as the defensive intensity picked up for both teams.

Jackson opened the second frame with five straight points and led 65-53 with 17:51 left. From that point on, though, Owens chipped away at the lead.

Andre Foster (Trotwood-Madison/Dayton, Ohio), Cochran, Derrik Jamerson Jr. (Cornerstone/Pontiac, Mich.) and Dae'Shawn Jackson (Springfield/Springfield, Ohio) all made field goals during a 9-0 run that pulled Owens within three with 13:57 left.

About two minutes later, Owens got three straight points from Ty'Rese Searles (Cornerstone/Pontiac, Mich.) and trailed by just two. Then, with just under 10 minutes left, Tariq Scott (R.J. Reynolds/Winston Salem, N.C.) went coast-to-coast for a layup to give Owens a 71-70 lead.

Tarae Potter responded by scoring nine straight points for Jackson to give his team a 78-74 lead with 7:49 remaining.

Jamerson Jr. answered Potter with seven straight points for Owens, with the final ones coming on a corner 3-pointer to give his team an 81-80 lead with 3:31 left.

After that 3-pointer, Potter scored on the other end, and Scott gave Owens its final lead with a pair of free throws with 1:40 left.

Jackson's first half hero, Lawler, gave his team an 84-83 lead with 1:20 left. Following two straight empty possessions from Owens, Potter was fouled with 21 seconds left. He made both free throws to give Jackson an 86-83 lead.

Following a timeout, Jamerson Jr. missed a 3-pointer from the left wing with eight seconds left. Lawler rebounded and was fouled with 4.2 seconds left. He made 1-for-2 at the line to seal the game. Jamerson Jr. then missed an inconsequential missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

In addition to his team-high 17 points, Cochran also tied Tony Stallworth (Chandler Park Academy/Detroit, Mich.) and Dilyn Good (Springfield/Holland, Ohio) for the team-high in rebounds at eight. Stallworth added a team-high four blocks.

Jamerson Jr. added 16 points and five rebounds (four offensive). Searles and Jackson added 14 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench. Foster (6) and Jackson (4) led the team in assists.

Lawler totaled a game-high 29 points and nine rebounds. Potter, who scored 19 points in the second half, added 23 points, nine rebounds, five assists and five steals. Matt Bullinger chipped in 14 for Jackson.

Statistically, the teams had a pretty close game except two key areas - points off turnovers and points in the paint. Jackson had 21 points off 16 Owens turnovers, while Owens had just eight points off 13 Jackson turnovers, and Jackson held a 14 point advantage in paint points.

Jackson improved to 4-3 overall with the win.

Owens, meanwhile, fell to 3-6 overall with the loss. They will be back in action on Dec. 2 against Henry Ford College at 7:30 p.m. on the road.