By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Toledo, Ohio---Derek Reece Jr. (Springfield/Toledo, Ohio) scored a career-high 18 points off the bench as the Owens Community College men's basketball team defeated Muskegon Community College 91-77 in the Student Health and Activities Center (SHAC).

Game Summary 

Roy Hatchett Jr. (Glenville/Cleveland, Ohio), who finished one shy of his career-high for assists with 14, opened the game with four straight assists as Owens jumped out to a 12-2 lead. Shondell Jackson (Warren Harding/Warren, Ohio) and Derrik Jamerson Jr. (Cornerstone/Pontiac, Mich.) combined for 10 points during the run. Luke Mayer (Davidson/Hilliard, Ohio) had the other two points.

After Jackson's second 3-pointer gave Owens a 19-7 lead with 11:18 left, Muskegon went on a 10-0 run to pull within two. Hatchett answered with a 3-pointer, and Marquevious Wilson (Lima Senior/Lima, Ohio) hit a pair of free throws to make it 24-17.

Rico Stafford's (Lima Senior/Lima, Ohio) layup moments later started a 7-0 run that was capped by a 3-pointer from Wilson. Hatchett closed the half with a layup to give Owens a 40-27 lead.

The second half opened with Owens scoring eight of the first 10 points to take a 48-29 lead. Stafford scored four of the points, while Jackson and Hatchett also scored during the run. A minute later, a pair of free throws from Hatchett pushed the lead to 20.

Muskegon trimmed its deficit to 12 on multiple occasions, but a 6-0 run from Owens made it 71-50 midway through the half. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Jamerson and Hatchett pushed the lead back up to 21 with 9:07 left, 

Daryl Kirkland made a pair of free throws to get Muskegon within 11, but Jackson answered with a 3-pointer and Reece converted a 3-point play on the next possession to give Owens an 88-73 lead with 1:10 left. Reece then added a 3-pointer from the left corner to give Hatchett his 14th assist with under a minute remaining.

Leaders

Jackson scored a team-high 21 points on 7-for-14 shooting, which including a 3-for-6 mark from 3-point range. He was also 4-for-4 from the foul line. Reece finished second on the team in scoring with 18 points on 6-for-12 shooting, including a 5-for-5 finish from the foul line. Wilson also went 5-for-5 from the foul line en route to 14 points and four rebounds.

Hatchett contributed 12 points, 14 assists and four rebounds. He shot 4-for-6 from the field and 2-for-3 from 3-point range. Jamerson (12) and Stafford (10) also reached double figure scoring.

As a team, Owens finished 32-for-63 (50.8 percent) from the field, 10-for-18 (55.6 percent) from 3-point range and 17-for-20 (85 percent) from the foul line.

Reece, Wilson and Jackson combined to shoot 14-for-14 from the foul line. 

Kirkland led all scorers with 26 points. JaQuan Pannell (12), Sergio Diaz (11) and Michael Williams (10) also reached double figures, while Williams had a game-high 12 rebounds.

Next Up

Owens is now 6-3 overall. They have won three straight entering Friday's road game against Adrian College's JV team at 7 p.m. Conference play begins following that with a 7:30 p.m. matchup against Cuyahoga on Dec. 14 at home.