Article copied from Jamestown Post Journal (http://www.post-journal.com/sports/local-sports/2017/11/rough-first-half-stretch-costs-jayhawks-in-loss/)

Jamestown Community College men's basketball coach George Sisson never stopped believing Wednesday night in the Jayhawks' NJCAA Region 3 Division II opener against Mercyhurst North East at the Physical Education Complex.

"Keep grinding, men, keep grinding," he implored when the Jayhawks trailed by 14 points midway through the second half.

"Keep battling," he yelled when they cut the deficit to 10 points with just over 10 minutes to play.

And when Kenny Pitt scored on a post move and Zachary Kiadii converted a steal into a layup, Sisson's "Let's goooooo," echoed through the gym as the hosts, who once trailed by as many as 23 points, pulled to within four at the four-minute mark.

But for all of Sisson's exhortations from the Jamestown CC bench, the veteran coach couldn't erase an unsightly performance by his team in the final 10 minutes of the first half, which became just too much to overcome in what turned out to be a 77-73 setback to the Saints.

The loss dropped the Jayhawks to a 2-2 overall and 0-1 in Region 3 Division II. Mercyhurst improved to 3-1 and 1-0.

"Disappointing," Sisson said. " … We were so poor in that second 10 minutes of the first half. I told the coaches at halftime that my worst fear had come true and that my team played like they'd never been coached a day in their life."

" … That was very, very discouraging," Sisson added. "Our offense was so bad. It just turned into easy offense for (Mercyhurst North East). … Bad offense created bad defense. The only thing that saved us was halftime."

It was pretty ugly.

Trailing by just four points, 28-24, with about eight minutes remaining before intermission following Chris Robson's 3-pointer from the corner, the Jayhawks' offense went stagnant, and Mercyhurst North East took full advantage.

The rest of the half the Saints outscored Jamestown CC, 22-9, and built a 50-33 lead when the teams headed to the locker room, courtesy of Izai Clark's trey in the closing seconds.

It didn't get much better to start the second half either as Mercyhurst North East bumped its lead to 23 points with 15 minutes remaining in the game. But the Jayhawks didn't quit and, thanks to a 10-1 run, they trimmed the deficit to 14, 62-48, with 10:39 left following a layup by Tavion King.

That surge prompted Sisson's "keep grinding" comment, and that's precisely what Jamestown CC did the rest of the night.

"For some reason we started making some plays and they got a little loose," Sisson said. " … We ran all the way up the hill."

Sparked by 17-3 run — Williams Overo had seven points to lead the way — the Jayhawks pulled to within four, 69-65, on Kiadii's theft and layup with exactly four minutes to go. As it turned out, that was as close as they would get the rest of the night, because in their final nine possessions, the Jayhawks managed just two field goals, had two costly turnovers and threw up an airball.

"I'm proud of the effort in the second half, but I'm angry because we gave away a region game at home," Sisson said. "We're not where we need to be with our mental part of the game."

Overo led Jamestown CC with 21 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, and D.J. Branch added 15 points, connecting on 3-of-4 attempts from the arc. But the Jayhawks were hurt by their struggles at the free throw line where they made only 11-of-21 attempts.

Clark paced the Saints with 21 points and nine rebounds, Eric Montanez added 10 points and 14 rebounds, and Trent Watson chipped in with 11 points. Mercyhurst North East was 15 of 22 from the charity stripe.

NOTES: The Jayhawks shot 51 percent from the floor for the game compared to just 38 percent for Mercyhurst North East, but the Saints' first-half lead was just too much for the hosts to overcome. … Jamestown returns to action this weekend when it plays Mohawk Valley CC on Saturday and Cecil College on Sunday, both at Monroe CC.

MERCYHURST NORTH EAST (77)

Montanez 3-10 4-5 10, Clark 6-11 3-7 21, Watson 4-8 1-3 11, Beckett 3-7 1-2 8, Sula 1-3 1-2 3, Jones 2-6 2-4 7, Rodriguez 0-0 0-0 0, Jackson 3-7 0-0 7, Ajilore 1-4 1-1 3, Stromenger 2-9 0-0 5, Totals 25-65 15-22 77.

JAMESTOWN CC (73)

Williams 3-6 2-3 8, Davidson 0-1 0-0 0, Branch 5-10 2-3 15, Howard 2-7 2-5 6, Overo 9-14 1-1 21, Kiadii 2-4 0-0 5, King 2-2 0-0 4, Wright 1-2 2-4 5, Robson 1-3 0-0 3, Pitt 2-4 1-3 5, Parker 0-0 1-2 1, Totals 27-53 11-21 73.

Halftime–Mercyhurst North East 50, Jamestown CC 33. 3-point goals–Mercyhurst North East 10-34 (Montanez 0-1, Clark 3-7, Watson 2-5, Beckett 1-3, Sula 0-1, Jones 2-4, Jackson 1-3, Ajilore 0-3, Stromenger 1-7), Jamestown CC 8-17 (Williams 0-3, Branch 3-4, Howard 0-1, Overo 2-4, Kiadii 1-1, Wright 1-2, Robson 1-2). Assists–Mercyhurst North East 15 (Clark 7), Jamestown CC 13 (Overo 7). Total fouls–Mercyhurst North East 20, Jamestown CC 16.