POPLARVILLE, Miss. - A thrilling second half comeback capped by a buzzer beater allowed the Northeast Mississippi Community College men's basketball team to survive and advance in its postseason opener.
Jalin Rice hit a jumper from the free throw line as time expired to lift the Tigers to a 59-57 victory over Hinds Community College on Tuesday, February 22 at Marvin R. White Coliseum.
Northeast moves on to face Meridian Community College in the semifinals of the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) Tournament on Wednesday, February 23. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. on the campus of Pearl River Community College.
The heroic final play was not without its share of drama as the inbounds pass from Steven Gentry went through the hands of Rice with 4.4 seconds remaining. However, he recovered the ball quickly, took one dribble inside the arc and calmly made the game winner.
"When I came to get the ball, I was going to try to drive it," said Rice. "It slipped out of my hands. I kinda got scared a little bit, but I got it back and was able to make a big shot. I felt like it was going on."
The Tigers were down by as many as 18 points and trailed 41-24 at the break before mounting their successful come-from-behind effort. It was the second time in the last three games that Northeast overcame a double-digit deficit.
Northeast scored the first seven points of the second half on an old-fashioned three-point play by Rice plus buckets from Hobert Grayson and Kameron Jones to get back within 10 points of the Bulldogs' lead at 41-31.
The Tigers got to within two possessions at 50-44 at the 10:35 mark after Kylan Blackmon accounted for six straight points. Northeast finally took its inaugural lead of the contest at 56-55 with 3:05 to go on a free throw by Gentry.
Another key for the Tigers' second half resurgence was their defense. Northeast held Hinds (10-14) to only five total points over the final 10 minutes of the game, which included a scoreless stretch of nearly five minutes.
"The second half we changed the tone a little bit and got more aggressive," said Tigers head coach Cord Wright. "It wasn't our prettiest game by any means. Luckily for us, we had the ball last and the right guy had it in his hands."
Northeast's Zeke Cook won the battle of the MACCC's top rebounders against the Bulldogs' Jalen Myers with 19 rebounds, including eight offensive boards. He added a team-best 14 points for his 14th double-double of the campaign.
Blackmon was one rebound shy of a double-double himself with 12 points and nine boards. Rice had a solid stat line of 13 points on a team-high six field goals, seven assists and seven rebounds.
The win over Hinds was the 20th overall this year for the Tigers, who appear at No. 23 in the latest National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) rankings. Northeast has reached that plateau in two of the last three seasons.