JC men drop heartbreaker at nationals

Jamestown College’s furious late rally fell just short against St. Francis, Ind., in first-round play of the NAIA national tournament in Point Lookout, Mo., on Thursday afternoon.

The Jimmies trailed by nine (56-47) with three minutes to play, but stormed all the way back to take the lead on a driving basket by Byron Jones with three seconds left in regulation.

On the ensuing in-bounds play, Jamestown College’s Davon Thomas was called for running through a screen and it sent Spencer Comer to the line with 3 seconds to go.

Comer made both free throws.

The Jimmies had one final desperation shot attempt by Jones as time expired, but it was off the mark.

The Jimmies trailed 29-20 at halftime, but outscored the Cougars 43-35 in the second half.

St. Francis (22-12) won the national title in 2010 and advanced to the championship game last season before losing.

The Jimmies finished the season at 25-7.

Mark Hoge led Jamestown College with 17 points. Jones added 16 and Thomas 12. Travis Burley, the Jimmies’ leading scorer and rebounder and the DAC and AII MVP, played just 18 minutes because of foul trouble and fouled out with 3:25 left.

NAIA National Tournament

At Point Lookout, Mo.

First round

St. Francis, Ind. 64, Jamestown College 63

Jamestown College 20 43 — 63

St. Francis 29 35 — 64

Jamestown College — Travis Burley 4, Brandon Robbins 3, Byron Jones 16, B.J. Mertens 5, Drew Preiner 3, Davon Thomas 12, Mark Hoge 17, Jared Sutherland 3. Totals: 23-57 FG, Three-pointers: 5-12 (Thomas 2, Preiner, Jones, Robbins), 12-21 FT, 31 Rebounds (Preiner 10), 29 Fouls (Burley 5, Preiner 5, Hoge 5), 6 Assists (Mertens 3), 14 Turnovers, 3 Blocked shots (Thomas 2), 3 Steals (Robbins, Preiner, Hoge).

St. Francis — Scott Kohne 18, Spencer Comer 5, Kevin Dawson 4, Q Owens 16, Seth Small 6, Ethan Hussey 6, Daniel Palombizio 1, Kevin Bloom 8. Totals: 18-48 FG, Three-pointers: 5-16 (Owens 2, Small 2, Bloom), 23-34 FT, 33 Rebounds (Kohne 11), 20 Fouls, 10 Assists (Comer 4), 16 Turnovers, 3 Blocked shots (Kohne 2), 5 Steals (5 with 1).

Records: St. Francis 22-12; Jamestown College 25-7.

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