By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Spots Information
Toledo, Ohio---Derrik Jamerson Jr. (Cornerstone/Pontiac, Mich.) scored a season-high 28 points, including 17 in the second half, to help lead the Owens Community College men's basketball team to a 101-97 win over Edison Community College in the SHAC tonight.
With his team down 10 at halftime, Jamerson shot 5-for-9 overall, 4-for-5 from 3-point range and 3-for-3 from the foul line in the second half. Included in the free throw totals are the two he made with 3.2 seconds left to put Owens up four and seal the game.
In the first half, Owens scored the game's first basket via a Charles Penn III (Macomb Dakota/Detroit, Mich.) layup, but Edison answered back to eventually take a 25-13 lead following a Malik Thurman layup with 12:07 left.
Xavier Cochran (Huron/Ann Arbor, Mich.) produced back-to-back layups with 6:51 left to pull Owens within six, but Edison responded with 10 straight points to take a 48-34 lead with 4:48 left.
Owens was able to pull within eight with 3:01 left in the half following a Ty'Rese Searles (Cornerstone/Pontiac, Mich.) 3-pointer, but Edison took a 10 point lead into the break.
In the second half, Jamerson scored nine points in the first 3:09 to pull Owens within three. Six of the nine came from the 3-point line, while the other three came on a jumper and a free throw.
Edison would bump the lead back up to seven following a Jalen Hearn jumper moments later, but Owens got a jumper from Dilyn Good (Springfield/Holland, Ohio), then a layup and a 3-pointer from Roy Hatchett Jr. (Glenville/Cleveland, Ohio), followed by a Cochran layup to complete an 9-0 run and take a 66-64 lead, which was their first lead since the game's first basket.
Damion Cook tied the game at 66 apiece for Edison, but Owens scored the next five points, which included another 3-pointer from Hatchett Jr. and started to somewhat take control of the game.
Tariq Scott (R.J. Reynolds/Winston Salem, N.C.) converted a layup on the right side for a 74-68 lead with 8:48 left. Edison was within four with 7:21 left, but Jamerson Jr. hit another 3-pointer to answer. Then, two minutes later, Jamerson Jr. hit another 3-pointer to put Owens up 89-80.
Edison went on a 7-3 run over the next three minutes. Following that, Dae'Shawn Jackson (Springfield/Springfield, Ohio) hit a jumper and Scott hit a layup to give Owens a 96-89 lead with 1:59 left.
Thurman then scored five straight points, including a tip-in with 12 seconds left, to pull Edison with two at 98-96. Searles made 1-for-2 at the foul line, and Edison's Cook also made one at the foul line with 5.2 seconds left. At that point, though, Jamerson Jr. was fouled and hit both free throws with just over three seconds left to seal the win.
Hearn missed a 3-pointer from half court at the buzzer for Edison.
All five Owens starters reached double figures, led by Jamerson's 28 points and seven rebounds. Penn added 13 points, seven rebounds and two steals, while Jackson and Scott each had 11 points. Jackson added a team-high eight assists, while Good, Cochran and Hatchett Jr. also scored 10 points apiece.
For Edison, four players reached double figures with three tallying double-doubles. Hearn had a team-high 26 points, while Thurman added 23 points and 12 rebounds. Cook chipped in 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Cody May had 14 points and 12 rebounds. Those four players combined for all but 16 of Edison's points.
Owens is now 14-11 overall and 6-4 in Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) play. They will travel to the Rike Center at Wittenberg University on Saturday for a 5 p.m. matchup against Columbus State Community College.Owens defeated Columbus State 95-87 on Jan. 9
Edison, meanwhile, falls to 11-15 overall and 2-9 in OCCAC play.