JAMESTOWN - It was a hard fought battle for the Jamestown Community College men's basketball team as they came away with a 66-65 win over Union County College on Sophomore Night.

The Jayhawks (4-4) were under the guidance of Assistant Coaches Sam Robinson and Jim Rissel Saturday evening with Head Coach Xavier Churnac on the shelf due to having oral surgery two days prior. 

JCC was led offensively by redshirt-sophomore guard Isaac Allen (Houston, TX/Texas Connection Academy) with 23 points. Sophomore Jake Hougan (Chardon, OH/Chardon HS) also came up big in the win, securing his first double-double on the season with 10 points and 10 boards (3 offense, 7 defense). 

Sophomore guards Kyle Butler (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool HS) and Kane Kenyon (Surrey, Regiate, England/Three RIvers Academy) added 12 points on the night. Butler rounded out his night with eight assists and seven rebounds (1 offense, 6 defense).

The Owls were led by Godly Marc with a game-high 32 points. Shyeim Powell finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds (5 offense, 8 defense), respectively.

The Jayhawks jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead with Shem Gordon (Vaughn, Ontario, Canada/Potters House Christian) scoring a bucket and making one-of-two free throws on the line. Hougan grabbed the offensive board on the second free throw from Gordan, making the layup.

Neither team was able to create much separation during a long portion of the first half until Butler found Kane on the backdoor to put JCC up 31-24 with under four minutes until intermission. Godly cut the Jayhawk lead to three before Butler knocked down a three-pointer to put their lead back to six points, up 34-28 with under two minutes left in the half. Marc cut the Owls deficit to four with a made basket as JCC took a 34-30 lead into the break.

The Owls came out of the half on the attack, going on a 9-0 run to take a 39-34 lead. The Jayhawks would keep the game within two possessions over a five minute stretch but Union County slowly built their lead.

Up three, the Owls rattled off eight straight to go up 49-38 with 11:23 left in regulation. JCC mustard up some offense by Union County would answer, going on a small run to get their biggest lead of 14 points with eight minutes left in the game.

JCC did not show quit, slowly chipping away at the deficit. With just over three minutes left in the game and down 10 points, Allen would take over the game. Allen knocked down a three and followed it up with a made layup, making it 63-58 in favor of the Owls. 

Union County pulled their lead back to seven with a pair of free throws from Marc. Allen continued to take over the game, knocking down back-to-back three-pointers, cutting the deficit to one point. 

(Assistant Coach Sam Robinson drawing up a play during a timeout.)

Out of a timeout with 34 seconds left in regulation, Allen put up another three-pointer but was fluid by Abdual Dempsey. Going to the line shooting three, Allen hit the front of the iron. Having a short-term memory, Allen knocked down his last two attempts. The Owls had a few looks towards the end but would come up short.

The Jayhawks defense stepped up when needed to, holding Union County scoreless in the last 2:47 of the game.

On the night, JCC went 25-for-64 (39.1 percent) from the floor with Union County going 25-for-58 (43.1 percent) from the field. The Jayhawks took advantage of the Owls' turnovers, scoring 19 points to Union County's 11 points. JCC also showed their depth, scoring 37 points off the bench.

Prior to the game, sophomores Kyle Butler, Isaac Allen, Jake Hougan, Kane Kenyon, Joseph Okonoboh (Boston, MA/Bradford Christian Academy), Jafar Yahuza (Staten Island, NY/Port Richmond), and Henry Brown, Jr. (Bushkill, PA/East Stroudsburg HS North) were recognized for their hard work and dedication to the men's basketball program during their time at the institution. 

The Jayhawks will be off until next Saturday, April 3rd, as they face Niagara County Community College in the NJCAA Region 3 Championship game.