Greyhounds Fall on Short Side of Time

In a game featuring 10 ties and 14 lead changes, the clock ran out before the Greyhounds could make a final run as they fell to Northeast Mississippi CC 74-68 Thursday at The Dog House for their first home loss of the season.

The visiting Tigers (10-0) found themselves ahead at the end of both halves, leading at halftime by a 32-27 count. But the play leading up to the end was more of a playoff atmosphere as both teams used staunch defense and controlled offense to try to gain an advantage. The Greyhounds ended up shooting a season-low 33.9% from the field while Northeast finished at 41.8%, but hit a season-low 15.0% from beyond the arc. With a considerable size advantage, Northeast was able to control the boards by a 44-39 count, and also forced 15 Greyhound turnovers while committing only 12.

The Greyhounds had two chances to take the lead but missed both shots and trailed 59-58 with just under 4 minutes remaining. But Northeast got loose in transition and hit a floater in the paint to go up 61-58, and then scored a traditional 3-point play to go up 64-58 and the Greyhounds answered as Zach Byrd hit his third trey of the game to close the gap to 64-61. The Greyhounds then were forced to foul trailing 68-65 since there was no shot clock in play due to a mechanical issue, and the Tigers hit free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

Ike Moore led four scorers in double figures with 17 points to go with 7 rebounds, and Jalen Lynn finished with 16 points. Garret Finley came off the bench for 15 points and Zach Byrd finished with 14 points and 8 boards. Christian White pulled down a game-high 9 rebounds and J.T. Smith dished out a team-high 6 assists.

The Greyhounds (8-3) next host St. Louis Community College Saturday at 4:00pm following the women's game against Mississippi Delta Community College at 2:00pm in what will be the final games of 2019 for both teams. The Archers handed the Greyhounds one of their three losses this season with a 74-72 win in St. Louis on November 19.

The Greyhounds return after the break to play their first four games of 2020 on the road before hosting Southern Arkansas University Tech on January 18 in a Region 2 contest.