It was a tough day on the road for the McLennan basketball teams as both squads fell to their counterparts from Collin College.
In the early game that literally came down to the final seconds, the McLennan Highlassies fell to the Collin Lady Cougar 67-65 this afternoon in Plano.
McLennan opened with a 4-0 run to take an early lead but Collin tied the game at four with 6:50 to play in the first quarter. The Highlassies’ JonNa McDonald drained a 3-pointer and Shekenia Green followed with a jumper to put McLennan up by five, 9-4; and they held a four-point lead at the end of the first, 18-14.
The Highlassies went up by six early in the second but a Mya Johnson layup for Collin cut it back to four, 20-16. Another 5-0 run that included another McDonald 3-pointer and a hook shot by Chiqueria Cook gave McLennan its largest lead of the first half, 25-16 with 7:43 to play in the second quarter. The Lady Cougars pulled within four but McLennan extend the lead back to six at the break, 35-29.
The second half was a tale of two quarters. McLennan led 44-40 with just under four minutes to play in the third quarter. The Highlassies broke the game open with a 15-0 run highlighted by six points from KeeKee Nowlin. Collin added a bucket in the final 30 seconds of the quarter and McLennan led 55-42 going into the final period.
Collin rallied in the fourth, tying the game at 60 with 3:54 remaining in the game. The Highlassies Jaylonn Walker scored four points in the next two minutes to put McLennan back up by four, 64-60. The Lady Cougars tied the game again, this time at 64 with just over a minute to go. KeeKee Nowlin went one for two from the foul line with 14 seconds to play to put McLennan up by one. But it was a bucket and free throw by Collin’s Johnson with 7.85 seconds on the clock that stole the win for the Lady Cougars.
Jaylonn Walker led the Highlassies with 15 points. Velma Mitchell and KeeKee Nowlin added 13 and 11, respectively.
In men’s action, the Highlanders fell to Collin 83-68. The game was close through the first half. McLennan led 10-9 with 14:32 to play in the first. A pair of layups from Dayante McClellan and Jordan Skipper-Brown would give the Highlanders their largest lead of the half, 14-9. Collin used sharp shooting from the 3-point line to take the one point lead midway through the half, 20-19. The Cougars’ Jalen Weber led the Collin charge down the stretch. Collin led by as many as eight but McLennan trimmed it to six at the half, 39-33.
McLennan opened the second half on an 8-2 run capped off with a bucket and one by Sasa Vuksanvic to tie the game at 41 with 16:36 to go. Collin used a 7-0 run over the next two minutes to begin pulling away. They increased their lead to double figures, 59-47, with 11 minutes to play and continued pulling away down the stretch. The Highlanders cut the lead to nine, 67-58, with 6:29 to go but that would prove to be as close as they could get.
Jashawn Talton led the Highlanders with 22 points and Marquez Cooper added 10.
McLennan will host Temple Wednesday at The Highlands. Women’s action get underway at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men’s game at 7:30 p.m.
