By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

POST GAME VIDEO 

North East, Pa.---Shondell Jackson (Warren Harding/Warren, Ohio) scored a team-high 21 points in his team debut to lead the Owens Community College men's basketball team to an 89-75 win over Mercyhurst North East Community College on the road tonight.

Mercyhurst North East's Omar Little, who scored a game-high 28 points, buried a trio of 3-pointers in the game's first four minutes to give his team an 11-9 lead. On the other end, Jackson nailed a pair of 3-pointers, followed by another 3-pointer from Derrik Jamerson Jr. (Cornerstone/Pontiac, Mich.).

Following that, Luke Mayer (Davidson/Hilliard, Ohio) made a strong move in the post for a layup to knot the game up at 11 apiece just over four minutes in. Jackson continued his hot start with his third 3-pointer to give Owens a three point lead moments later, but another 3-pointer from Little highlighted a 7-0 run that gave the home team a four point lead, which would be their largest lead of the game.

An alley-oop dunk from Roy Hatchett Jr. (Glenville/Cleveland, Ohio) to Jaylen Tucker (Northland/Columbus, Ohio) ended that run and spurred a 5-0 run in which the scoring came solely from Tucker.

Mercyhurst North East answered with a free throw from Little, but a 3-pointer from Jamerson and a dunk from Rico Stafford (Lima Senior/Lima, Ohio) pushed the Owens lead to 24-19 with 11:09 left in the half, and Owens never trailed again.

Following a bucket in the paint from Mercyhurst North East's Chris Collins, Owens went on a 7-2 run that was capped with a 3-pointer from Ty'Rese Searles (Cornerstone/Pontiac, Mich.). A short time later, Marquevious Wilson (Lima Senior/Lima, Ohio) buried a 3-pointer from the left corner to give Owens an 11-point lead.

Another layup from Collins pulled his team's deficit back to seven, but two more 3-pointers from Jamerson, along with a free throw from Mayer put Owens up 47-35 with 2:46 left in the half.

The lead was pushed to as many as 15 before the half ended, and a free throw from Jackson gave Owens a 52-40 lead at the break.

In the first half, and throughout the game, the depth of Owens was a factor. They held a 14-2 advantage in the first half in bench scoring, while also tallying a 10-4 advantage in points off turnovers. Mercyhurst North East held a 20-14 advantage in paint scoring, but that was due in large part to the long range success of the Owens offense.

In the second half, Owens never trailed by fewer than 10, which came on the half's opening basket from Mercyhurst North East's Craige Dixon. Four minutes in, a 3-pointer from Jackson and a layup from Stafford gave Owens a 16-point lead. Three minutes later, a jumper from Jamerson pushed it to 18.

A 7-0 run from Mercyhurst North East, highlighted by a dunk from Dixon, knocked the lead down to 11, but Searles buried a 3-pointer and followed it up with a pair of free throws for a personal 5-0 run.

Following back-to-back layups from Jackson, including a tough layup from the left side off a fast break in traffic, Jamerson buried another 3-pointer to give Owens a 22-point lead with 7:11 left, and it would be the largest lead of the game.

Mercyhurst North East was able to trim its deficit to as few as 12 following a layup from Chris Collins with 1:45 left, but Hatchett scored four straight as Owens picked up a double-digit win in its season opener.

In the second half, Owens held advantages in points off turnovers (15-8), second chance points (13-6) and bench points. They led for the game's final 31 minutes.

Jackson finished 8-for-13 from the field and 4-for-8 from 3-point range to produce his team-high 21 points, and he also added a team-high three steals. Jamerson, meanwhile, went 7-for-14 from the field, including a 5-for-8 finish from 3-point range, to finish with 19 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.

Searles added 13 points, while Tucker finished with 12 points and a team-high 14 rebounds, which included six on the offensive glass. Hatchett added nine points and a team-high nine assists. 

As a team, Owens finished 12-for-27 (44.4 percent) from 3-point range to help make up for a 15-for-31 finish from the foul line. Mercyhurst North East was led by Little's 28, along with 18 points from Collins. Dixon chipped in 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.

Owens forced 24 turnovers from Mercyhurst North East while scoring 25 points off of them.

Next up for Owens will be its home opener against Henry Ford College at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 9.