BOONEVILLE, Miss. - Jacob Tracey came through in the clutch during the postseason opener for the Northeast Mississippi Community College men's basketball team.
Tracey made two free throws with 12 seconds left to lift the Tigers to a 69-68 win over Baton Rouge (La.) Community College in the second round of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 23 Tournament on Thursday, April 1 at Bonner Arnold Coliseum.
Both squads had already exchanged the lead twice in the final minute before Tracey drove towards the basket and was bumped by a defender inside the lane. His layup was wiped off by the officials, which resulted in a one-and-one situation.
The Fort Myers, Fla., native calmly stepped to the charity stripe and drained both attempts. Tracey ended the night a perfect 6 of 6 on free shots plus 5 of 7 from the field for a team-best 16 points.
"I was just thinking about what my coaches said. Take a breath, relax and just make them," said Tracey. "I didn't want my sophomore year to end like that and I know my dudes didn't want their year to end like that either."
The Bears had two chances to retake the lead with under five seconds remaining. But a layup bounced off the side of the rim and a desperation three-pointer at the buzzer was well off the mark as Northeast survived Baton Rouge's upset bid.
"At this point of year whether you win by one or 21, victories are victories," Tigers head coach Cord Wright said. "We preach free throws and layups win games and that's what our guys did tonight. I credited them for that in the locker room."
Second-seeded Northeast, which is receiving votes in the latest NJCAA rankings, appeared to be pulling away from the Bears during both halves. However, No. 18 seed Baton Rouge clawed back into the contest each time.
Jalin Rice had five points, including a trey that was assisted by Kylan Blackmon, as part of a 9-0 run that gave the Tigers their largest lead of the entire evening at 28-18 with 4:56 to go before the intermission.
The Bears (7-8) accounted for 14 of the next 17 points. Julius Ellerbe and Jayhlon Young, who combined for 37 points, had buckets with less than a minute remaining to push Baton Rouge ahead 32-31 at halftime.
Blackmon's layup with 4:32 showing on the clock in the second half increased Northeast's advantage to 62-53. Three turnovers by the Tigers followed and the Bears eventually took a 66-65 lead at the 1:14 mark, which setup Tracey's heroics.
Zeke Cook produced the third double-double of his freshman campaign at Northeast (13-3) with 14 points and 10 boards. It was his fourth consecutive outing with a double-digit rebounding total.
Rice and Blackmon added 14 and 12 points, respectively, for the Tigers. Ladarrius Spears barely missed double figures for the second straight matchup with nine points plus seven key rebounds.
Northeast shot 48.2 percent from the floor overall and a stellar 86.7 percent at the free throw line. The Tigers held a plus-10 advantage on the glass and outscored Baton Rouge 38-16 in the paint.
It was the first triumph for Northeast in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament ironically since defeating the Bears by a 75-59 margin on March 6, 2018. The Tigers have now won at least one playoff game in each of the last seven seasons.
Northeast advances and next hosts No. 10 seed Delgado (La.) Community College on Tuesday, April 6. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament.