By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Westerville, Ohio---Dae'Shawn Jackson (Springfield/Springfield, Ohio) hit several big shots en route to a season-high 31 points while leading the Owens Community College men's basketball team to a 96-88 win over Columbus State Community College in overtime on Saturday at Otterbein University's Rike Center.
The game featured plenty of long distance shooting from the very beginning. Owens opened the game with three straight 3-pointers from Dilyn Good (Springfield/Holland, Ohio), Jackson and Xavier Cochran (Huron/Ann Arbor, Mich.).
Down 9-3, Columbus State answered with a 7-0 run. Cochran hit a jumper a short time later to give Owens an 11-10 lead, but it would be their final lead until late in the second half.
Columbus State went on an 8-0 run to take a 24-16 lead with 12:05 left, but Owens remained close over the next few minutes. Tariq Scott (R.J. Reynolds/Winston Salem, N.C.) threw down an emphatic, two-handed tip dunk to trim the lead in half, and then Derrik Jamerson Jr.'s (Cornerstone/Pontiac, Mich.) made it 24-22 with 9:30 remaining.
Columbus State's Nic Williams converted a second chance layup to complete a 9-0 run moments later, although Owens was able to trim its deficit to seven at halftime as Ty'Rese Searles (Cornerstone/Pontiac, Mich.) hit a 3-pointer with 1:41 left.
In the first half, the two teams combined to shoot 14-for-33 from 3-point range. Inside the 3-point line, Owens was 10-for-18, while Columbus State was 8-for-18.
Owens trimmed its deficit to six on two occasions early in the second half, but Columbus State slowly increased its lead until they held a 63-46 lead, their largest of the game, with 12:13 left.
At that point, Owens started to get back into the game. Cochran converted a three point play to stem the tide, and then his team went on a 15-1 run, capped by an offensive rebound and a layup from Jackson. Cochran scored five points during the run, but Jackson reeled off eight straight points to pull Owens within three with 7:50 left.
Owens was able to get within striking distance, but couldn't seem to tie the game or take the lead until Roy Hatchett Jr. (Glenville/Cleveland, Ohio) drove the middle of the lane for a layup to tie the game with 3:53 left.
Kenneth Moore's layup with 2:06 left gave Columbus State an 80-76 lead with 2:06 remaining, but Jackson buried a 3-pointer to pull Owens within one moments later. After Nic Williams hit a jumper for Columbus State on the other end, Jackson hit another 3-pointer with 43 seconds left to tie the game.
Both teams then missed offensive opportunities in the final 30 seconds, including a missed 3-pointer from Jamerson Jr. just before the buzzer. and the teams went to overtime.
Cochran opened overtime with a layup, followed by a 3-pointer from Jamerson Jr. and another layup from Cochran as Owens scored seven of the first eight points to open up an 89-83 lead with 2:46 left.
Columbus State was able to trim its deficit to three on two occasions, but Owens closed the game on a 5-0 run to seal the victory.
The two teams finished close in points in the paint, points off turnovers and bench points, but Owens held a 15-7 advantage in second chance points. The game featured five ties and four lead changes.
Jackson led all scorers with his season-high 31 points. The freshman guard finished 9-for-16 from the field, including a 5-for-9 finish from 3-point range, and went 8-for-11 from the foul line. He added five rebounds, three assists and one block.
Cochran added a double-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds, three steals, two assists and one block, while Jamerson finished with eight points, a game-high 14 rebounds and four assists. Hatchett Jr. tied Jamerson Jr. for the team-high in assists, too.
For Columbus State, Robert Caldwell had a team-high 19 points, while Moore and Rodney Willis each had 16. Williams contributed 11 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks.
Each team finished 10-for-30 from 3-point range, although Owens went 20-for-26 from the foul line compared to 16-for-26 for Columbus State.
With the win, Owens is now 15-11 overall and 7-4 in Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) play. They will travel to Lakeland Community College for a 7:30 p.m. matchup this coming Wednesday.
Columbus State falls to 19-6 overall and 9-4 in OCCAC play. Two of those conference losses are to Owens.
Notes
With today's Owens win over Columbus State, Sinclair Community College (11-1 OCCAC) clinched an outright OCCAC championship for the first time since 2007-08 and will be the No. 1 seed in the district tournament.
Columbus State (9-4), Owens (7-4) and Lakeland (6-4) are all tie in the loss column for second place in the OCCAC standings. Owens has two matchups left with Lakeland, and they would earn the No. 2 seed in the district tournament by sweeping their final three conference games.
Cochran has now scored in double figures in 15 straight games. He also has four double-doubles this year.
Jackson's previous season-high in scoring was 14, which was also set against Columbus State on Jan. 9. He also set new season-highs in field goals made and field goals attempted yesterday.
Jamerson Jr. tied his season-high in rebounds, which was set on Jan. 16 vs Clark State Community College.