Clarksville, Ark.-Louisiana College went on a 16-3 run to open the second half and got 23 second half points from JeLani Mitchell to earn a 86-77 win over the Eagles Monday in American Southwest Conference play.
Ozarks (6-17, 3-15 ASC) held a 38-32 halftime lead and even had a 38-23 advantage with 3:09 left. But the Wildcats (11-11, 10-8 ASC) climbed back into the game by scoring nine straight points to close out the half. Louisiana College kept that momentum early in the second half and eventually took a 48-41 advantage after Mitchell drilled one of his three second half three-pointers at the 17:03 mark. Ozarks cut it back to 49-47 on Andre Williams’ shot with 16:05 to play. Ozarks got within 58-57 on Marcus Bobb’s basket with 9:53 remaining, but never took the lead as the backcourt duo of Mitchell and Jarrod Jackson proved to be too much. A Dustin Morett three-pointer cut it to 79-75 with 51 seconds left, but Mitchell and Jackson made a combined seven free throws in the remaining 45 seconds.
The game also saw Williams pass the 1,000 career point plateau. Williams now has 1,004 points for his four-year career. He has made 161 three-pointers over that span.
Mitchell finished with 37 points and five three-pointers. Jackson had 22 points.
Kasey Lewis posted a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Bobb had 16 points and Morett added 14 points on four three-pointers. David Robertson finished with 11 points.
Ozarks will host LeTourneau University February 17 and Texas-Tyler February 19.
Saturday’s game is both “Senior Day” and Homecoming.
Topics: Athletics