By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Toledo, Ohio---Derrik Jamerson Jr. (Cornerstone/Pontiac, Mich.) had 15 points and 10 rebounds as the Owens Community College men's basketball team used a 55-point second half to rout Clark State Community College 84-44 in a Region XII District 11 quarterfinal matchup in the Student Health and Activities Center (SHAC) tonight. 

With the win, Owens (23-8 overall) advances to Friday's semifinal round against No. 2 seed Cuyahoga Community College (27-2), where the two teams will meet at 8 p.m. at Ohio Christian University. The championship game will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Jamerson had 12 of his game-high 15 points in the second half as he picked up his seventh double-double of the season.

Clark State (1-25) attempted to use as much of the shot clock as possible in the first half, and it worked. The tournament's No. 6 seed shot 12-for-27 in the opening 20 minutes, led by Isaiah Boyd's eight points, and the underdogs trailed just 29-25. In fact, Clark State either led or was tied with Owens for nearly 15 minutes of the first half.

Rico Stafford (Lima Senior/Lima, Ohio), who tied Jamerson for the game-high in scoring with 15 points, opened the second half with a layup as Owen started on a 6-0 run that put them up 10 with 17:28 left.

Moments later, Roy Hatchett Jr. (Glenville/Cleveland, Ohio) scored eight straight points, forced a turnover and then found Jamerson for a 3-pointer to give Owens a 46-29 lead with 14:04 left.

From there, Owens scored on its next nine possessions to open up a 66-33 lead. Jamiri Bennett (Maumee/Toledo, Ohio) capped the streak with back-to-back layups.

In the final three minutes, Mason Durden (Whitmer/Toledo, Ohio) had five points, James Grays (Start/Toledo, Ohio) threw down a dunk, and Derek Reece Jr. (Springfield/Toledo, Ohio) added four points. 

In fact, Grays finished third on the team in scoring with 12 points in just 16 minutes off the bench. It was the fifth time he's reached double figures in 14 games this year.

Boyd led Clark State with 12 points.

NOTES

Owens scored two more points in the second half tonight than they did in all of last year's Region XII District 11 quarterfinal loss to Cuyahoga Community College. 

Jamerson now has 957 career points and still has an outside chance at becoming the third Owens MBB player in the past five years to reach 1,000 points. He's attempting to join James Kelly (1,219 points, 2011-13) and John Murry (1,107 points, 2013-15).

On top of that, Jamerson, who finished 3-for-7 from 3-point range tonight, needs 26 more attempts to break the program's single season record. He already owns the single game and career records for most makes and attempts, as well as the single season record for most makes.

Owens has now won 14 of its past 17 games. This year marks the fifth time in the past six seasons that the program has won at least 20 games, and it's the 29th time in program history.

Stafford has now scored at least 10 points in 12 of his past 14 games and 22 times overall this year. He also finished 70 percent from the field tonight, which marks the 16th time in the past 17 games in which he has shot at least 50 percent from the field.