HUTCHINSON, Kan. – New Mexico Junior College blew an 11-point lead in the final two minutes of regulation at the NJCAA men’s tournament Tuesday and lost 88-87 in overtime to Northwest Florida.
New Mexico led 42-25 at the half, but Northwest Florida won the second half 50-33 to produce a 75-75 tie, then outbattled New Mexico 13-12 in the overtime.
Chris Jones led Northwest Florida with 27 points, and Elgin Cook added 23 points.
Desmond Lee led New Mexico with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Dekabriean Eldridge added 18 points and 8 rebounds.
New Mexico took its 17-point halftime length behind 7-of-15 three-pointers to just 2-of-11 for Northwest Florida. The second half, New Mexico made 4-of-10 three-pointers while Northwest Florida was knocking down 9-of-21.
New Mexico committed 19 turnovers – six of them by Lee — to 11 for NW Florida, whose Lamin Fulton was credited with five steals. Jones committed 6 of NW Florida’s turnovers.
New Mexico lost despite winning the rebound battle 58-48.
Under the new single-elimination format, New Mexico now heads home. Half of the 24 teams in the field have been eliminated after two days.
Charles Richards Charles Richards moved to Paris in 2004 after retiring from a 40-year career in journalism – the last 26 years as a news writer and sports writer with The Associated Press in Dallas and Washington, D.C. In mid-2004, The Paris News coaxed him out of retirement, and he began covering the police, court and regional beat for The Paris News. Then in early 2005, he was switched to coverage of a sharply divided Paris City Council. He was appointed by the City Council in 2006 to the 12-member City Charter Review Commission, which extensively rewrote the outmoded document. His writing awards include two first-place awards in statewide competition for feature writing. The most recent was his 2005 story on a Paris doctor’s startling use of leeches in a successful attempt to re-attach a man’s severed ear. Over his career, Richards’ interview subjects include Alabama Gov. George Wallace, President Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush, David Koresh, Arnold Palmer, Muhammad Ali and numerous other political and sports figures. He is an alumnus of Texas Tech, where he was editor of the school newspaper. He lives in Paris with his wife, Barbara, who is retired after 30 years as a teacher and high school counselor.
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