By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Dearborn, Mich.---Derrik Jamerson Jr. (Cornerstone/Pontiac, Mich.) and Ty'Rese Searles (Cornerstone/Pontiac, Mich.) combined for 50 points to lead the Owens Community College men's basketball team to an 89-81 win over Henry Ford College on the road tonight.

Early on, the Owens offense was balanced and efficient as all five starters scored and the team made seven of its first nine shots. A layup from Searles capped the stretch and gave Owens a 17-11 lead with 15:08 left.

Chris Mosley helped lead a Henry Ford run, which he capped with a 3-pointer to give the home team a 22-21 lead with 9:39 remaining. It was their second lead of the game, but it was also their final lead.

Charles Penn III (Macomb Dakota/Detroit, Mich.) answered Mosley's three with a layup, and Roy Hatchett (Glenville/Cleveland, Ohio) followed with a 3-pointer. Moments later, Jamerson Jr. hit a 3-pointer and Searles got a steal and a lay-in to cap a 9-0 run and make it 33-24 with 6:38 left.

Torrey Gray tried to get the home crowd going by taking a pass from Mosley and throwing down a two-handed dunk to end the run, but Owens responded with, perhaps, a more impressive dunk as Searles lobbed a pass to Tariq Scott (R.J. Reynolds/Winston Salem, N.C.) as Owens increased its lead to 12 and forced a Henry Ford timeout with 4:54 left.

Henry Ford scored the first four points out of the timeout, but Jamerson Jr. buried back-to-back 3-pointers to close the half and give Owens a 47-38 lead.

Jamerson Jr. totaled 15 points in the first half, while Searles had 12. Owens shot 17-for-36 (47.2 percent) from the field, including an 8-for-18 (44.4 percent) mark from 3-point range. Henry Ford shot 51.6 percent from the field, but made only 16.7 percent of its free throws in the half.

Mosley opened the second half with a jumper, but Jamerson Jr. scored eight more points in a row for his team. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Searles then made it 66-53 with 14:14 remaining.

With 10:55 left, Owens produced another highlight as Hatchett threw a pass off the glass on a fast break, which Penn III promptly threw down with two hands. Hatchett Jr. then threw another alley-oop, this time to Scott, with 8:57 left as Owens led 77-64.

A 3-pointer from Jamerson and a layup from Searles pushed the Owens lead to 16, its largest of the game, with 5:48 left.

Mosley scored six points from the foul line down the stretch as Henry Ford reduced its final margin to eight.

Owens was out-rebounded by six in the second half, including a deficit of five on the offensive glass, but forced 11 turnovers.

Jamerson Jr. led all scorers with a season-high 26 points. Searles tied his season-high with 24. Scott chipped in 12, while Xavier Cochran (Huron/Ypsilanti, Mich.) had nine points and a team-high seven rebounds. Penn III and Andre Foster (Trotwood-Madison/Dayton, Ohio) each chipped in six rebounds and Cochran had a game-high four blocks. Searles and Hatchett each had a team-high five assists.

Diangelo Carlton led Henry Ford with 25 points and 13 rebounds. KeShaun Martin added 18 points and seven assists. Ricky Hudgens also had 17 points, while Mosley finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Torrey Gray added 10 rebounds off the bench.

Both teams were helped by the long ball. Owens went 13-for-30 (43.3 percent), and Henry Ford made 9-for-23 (39.1 percent). Owens made 80 percent of its free throws (16-for-20), and Henry Ford struggled at 12-for-21 (57.1 percent).

With the win, Owens improved to 4-6 overall. They will travel to Livonia, Mich. on Saturday to take on No. 1 Schoolcraft College at 3 p.m. Owens will look to avenge a 117-83 loss on Nov. 21.

Notes

For Owens, Hatchett returned from a seven game absence, while Brian Walker (Huron/Ann Arbor, Mich.) played for the first time since Nov. 15. However, Owens was without the services of Dilyn Good (Springfield/Holland, Ohio) and Tony Stallworth (Chandler Park Academy/Detroit, Mich.).

Searles tied his season-high with 24 points, which he also recorded on Nov. 7 vs Jamestown. He has scored at least 12 points in five straight games.