CLINTON — By the midway point of the second half, after they’d spent about 30 minutes trading big runs and the lead, it was clear that the winner between Holmes Community College and Northeast Mississippi would be the team that got hot last.

As it turned out, that was Northeast.

Leroy Buchanan hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with a little more than 2 minutes to play, and it sparked the last big run of the game that propelled the Tigers to an 88-81 win over Holmes in the first round of the NJCAA Region 23 tournament at Mississippi College on Thursday afternoon.

Northeast advanced to face Northwest Mississippi in the semifinals Friday at 6 p.m. Northwest beat Jones County 97-80 earlier Thursday.

“We lost focus as a team. We just broke down,” said Holmes forward Gerald Glass, a former Warren Central star. “The other team came out and shot the ball pretty good. We didn’t execute our game plan or run our plays right.”

The loss brought the curtain down on the junior college careers of three Holmes players from Vicksburg.

Glass, as well as guards D’Angelo Richardson and Edward Davis, both former Vicksburg High stars, all played their final games for the Bulldogs.

Richardson, who was averaging 13.7 points per game coming in, scored just five on Thursday on 1-for-6 shooting. He also had four rebounds and four assists.

Glass and Davis did not score in limited minutes off the bench. Glass had one rebound and one blocked shot in 7 minutes of playing time, while Davis had one assist in 5 minutes. Davis spelled Richardson at point guard, so the three Vicksburg players never were all on the court at the same time.

Holmes (18-6) finished its season with a loss to Mississippi Gulf Coast in the MACJC state tournament last week, and then by letting a late lead slip away against Northeast. Richardson said those kinds of losses made the ending even more bitter. Holmes reached the quarterfinals of the NJCAA national tournament last season and had aspirations of another deep run this year.

“It’s very disappointing, because we had a lot of sophomores and we were supposed to be right back where we were last year. We just came up short,” Richardson said.

All three Vicksburg players have received some interest from four-year schools, but Richardson seems to have the best chance of playing at the next level. He made a smooth transition from shooting guard to point guard this season and was second on the Bulldogs in scoring while averaging 3.5 assists.

“In high school I was a shooting guard and now I’m playing point guard. It was the hardest transition ever. I felt like I handled it appropriately and did a good job transferring,” Richardson said. “Learning when to go and when not to go, and when to shoot and when not to shoot, was the hardest part. And then knowing who’s hot and who’s not, and what everybody does. The mental side.”

Although Richardson and the Bulldogs had a good season, they certainly didn’t have a good game against Northeast Mississippi (15-9).

The teams traded eight- and 10-point runs all day, with neither ever really gaining the upper hand until Northeast pulled away late. Northeast led 45-37 at halftime, Holmes opened the second half with a 13-3 run to regain the lead, and they eventually wound up tied at 72 with 3 ½ minutes to go.

That was when Northeast put together the decisive run.

Buchanan’s 3 and a driving layup by Kendarius Smith gave the Tigers a 77-72 lead. Holmes got back within a point before Wesley Harris scored on a putback and Raheem Sorrell hit two free throws to put Northeast up 81-76 with a minute left.

The Tigers pulled away from there as Holmes fell apart. Holmes had four missed shots and a turnover in the final minute. Those mistakes forced it to foul, and Northeast went 9-for-10 at the line in the last 60 seconds to ice it.

As a team, Northeast was 24-for-33 at the foul line. Smith led the team with 28 points, Harris scored 20 with 12 rebounds, and Sorrell made 10 of 11 free throws to score 16 points.

Daryl Macon led Holmes with 31 points, and Cedric Harper had 19 points and eight rebounds.

Northeast committed only eight turnovers for the game — half of them during a brief flurry at the start of the second half. Holmes had 19.

“That was the key. We came out the second half and turned it over four times in a row. They responded. I thought they really handled that well,” Northeast coach Cord Wright said. “This time of year, turnovers, layups and free throws are how you win good games against good teams.”

EMCC 89, Gulf Coast 83

East Mississippi Community College used a 15-0 run late in the second half to take the lead for good and beat Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in the Region 23 quarterfinals.

Gulf Coast (19-7) was held scoreless for nearly 4 ½ minutes during the decisive stretch. The Bulldogs also went 15-for-25 from the free throw line.

Juan Davis, Jr. had 15 points — including a 3-pointer and a dunk to jumpstart the 15-0 run — and 12 rebounds for East Mississippi (19-7). Jahyde Gardiner also scored 15 points.

Anfernee Hampton led Gulf Coast with 20 points.

East Mississippi will play Southern University-Shreveport in the semifinals Friday at 8 p.m. SUSLA beat Pearl River Community College, 68-66, in a quarterfinal game Thursday night.