Jamestown ends Monroe's season
ROCHESTER - The sixth-seeded Jamestown Community College Jayhawks built a double-digit second-half lead and kept Monroe at bay to escape with an 80-74 win over the Tribunes in the opening round of the NJCAA Reigon III, Division II men's basketball tournament Tuesday.
Jamestown (12-14) advances to the regional Final Four this weekend in Buffalo, where they will face No. 2 Niagara County Community College on Saturday. MCC ends the season 14-13.
A sluggish start saw both teams struggle from the floor in the opening 20 minutes. Neither team shot better than 35 percent, and they combined for 15 turnovers as the game entered the half deadlocked at 29.
Jamestown scored the first five out of the break to gain momentum. The lead ballooned to 12 at 53-41 after a Marcus Heard 3-point play with 8:50 remaining.
The Tribunes cut into the lead a handful of times down the stretch, but the Jayhawks had an answer for every Monroe run. Jamestown put the game away at the charity stripe, hitting 10-of-12 free throws in the last 2:09 to ice the game.
Majesty Brandon did his best to bring MCC back into the contest. The sophomore scored 29 of his season-high 35 points in the second half. He finished his stellar MCC career with 1,041 total points.
Gilberto Cue started strong and finished with 14 for Monroe. Omari Brown chipped in with 12.