VINCENNES, Ind. - The Northeast Mississippi Community College men's basketball team started its trip up north with a come-from-behind thriller against a top 15 opponent.
The Tigers erased an 18-point second half deficit to capture a marquee victory with an 84-75 decision over John A. Logan (Ill.) College on Friday, November 11 during day one of the 2022 McDonald's Classic at Vincennes (Ind.) University.
The Volunteers, who won their region championship last year, rose from unranked to No. 13 in the inaugural National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) ratings of the regular season. Northeast checks in at No. 16 in the same poll.
"Tremendous fight in our guys tonight," said Tigers head coach Cord Wright. "It's funny because I didn't say anything. I looked at the bench and they were all still clapping. They knew that we had a run in us. They just kept grinding and we found a way to win it."
Northeast trailed 59-41 with 14:32 remaining in the contest after an 11-2 spurt by John A. Logan. However, Jalin Rice got the Tigers back into striking distance by going on a personal 8-0 run over the next three minutes.
The deficit for Northeast remained double figures until the 6:54 mark when Steven Gentry, Jr., converted five straight points after a couple of technical foul free throws and an old-fashioned three-point play.
The Tigers (3-0) got back within one possession of the Volunteers following an uncontested layup by Gentry, Jr., with 4:08 to go. Rice tied the game just over a minute later with a nice move in the paint.
Corey Stephenson gave Northeast its initial lead of the matchup at 73-71 with two minutes to play following an offensive rebound and putback. The Tigers accounted for 11 of the final 15 points from there, including a couple of dunks from Anthony Johnson, to pull away.
The trio of Gentry, Jr., Rice and Stephenson were dynamic. Rice led the trio with his second career double-double and first of the season with a game-best 25 points plus 10 rebounds.
"The summer is paying off. Everybody on this team put in effort and it's the reason we got the W," Rice said. "I didn't have no choice but to rebound. I had to do that for coach."
Gentry, Jr., and Stephenson were just behind Rice with 21 points apiece. It was a new career-high for Gentry, Jr., who went 7 of 13 from the floor and 7 of 9 from the charity stripe from the point guard position.
"The first half we weren't playing like we should be," said Gentry, Jr. "The second half we turned it up on the defensive end and got stops. We were great in transition offense."
Johnson reached double-digits for the first time during his young tenure in a black-and-gold uniform with 10 points. Northeast was 43.8 percent from the field and 18 of 23 overall at the free throw line.
The Tigers conclude the McDonald's Classic by facing off with host Vincennes on Saturday, November 12. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. from the P.E. Complex.