FULTON, Miss. – Coming off the Thanksgiving break, the Indians returned to action with an intense battle with Snead State that came down to the final second, but saw the visiting Parsons pick up a 60-57 win.
The Indians (2-3) jumped out to an early lead and extended their lead to 10, 27-17 on an Akeem Kirkwood(Weir) with a turnaround jump shot with just over six minutes remaining in the opening half.
At halftime, the Indians saw their lead cut down but still held a 32-28 advantage. The intensity picked up quickly in the second half with the squads exchanging buckets and back-to-back field goals by Ma'Darius Hobson(Houlka) gave the tribe a 40-38 lead at the 10 minute mark.
The back-and-forth battle appeared to be headed to overtime tied at 55-55 with a minute remaining, but a questionable charge call on the Indians with 31.9 remaining sent the Parsons to the free throw line.
That wasn't the final chance for the Indians however, as they had another possession trailing by three, but an Indians foot stepped on the line while receiving a pass to end the threat and give the Parsons the win.
Hobson led the Indians with 17 points and 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season, andCartisco Brown (Indianola) followed with 10 points.
For more information on ICC Men's Basketball, follow ICC Athletics on Twitter (@LetsGoICC).