The toughness of breaking past the proverbial threshold continued for the Greyhounds on Saturday afternoon in 49-46 loss as Rudy Bowden’s shot from near halfcourt missed to the left, giving JCHS five losses in a row, four by a combined total of 18 points.
In a game of offensive surges that began with an 8-0 Jones County lead from the opening tip off, the visiting Wolfpack managed to stay within one possession after Chance Banks drained a three pointer early in the fourth quarter and even after a 46-43 JCHS lead with 1:51 to play as a pair of free throws by Justin Ray coming off a Bowden block on the opposite end of the floor.
Bowden and Jakeylan Wilburn helped keep the Greyhounds going from the offensive perimeter, each sinking 10 points with the leading scorer being Tyler Wold by way of gritty play in the paint that added up to 12 points.
The Wolfpack would have just enough to pull in front, leading 47-46 with 41 seconds to go on a jump shot, an advantage that would grow to 49-46 after a pair of single free throws.
True to recent form, Jones County forged an opportunity to win. After one missed three pointer with inside a minute to play, the Greyhounds had one final chance to tie it with less than 10 seconds left, getting the ball near midcourt for Bowden, whose shot missed left.
“Small things, they matter,” Greyhounds head coach Willie Reese said. “Not getting your hands up at the end of a half when a guy is taking a shot, it matters. Not boxing out, it matters. Letting guys driving past you because you are worried about fouls, it matters. It’s the little things.”
The solace going forward for Jones County is this – next month’s region tournament, unlike that of some regions in the state, includes every team. That means, if a team gets on a hot streak at the right time, a result could be a state tournament berth.
“We’re really, really close. We are a team that nobody wants to meet right now,” Reese said. “In our region from (third to 10th), every is the same. We just have to continue grinding and become even closer as a team.”
