The Jayhawks’ latest lesson came Saturday afternoon in a 70-66 NJCAA Division II loss to Cuyahoga CC at the Physical Education Complex.

“We are a brand-new team,” head coach Xavier Churnac said of his Jayhawks, who feature 12 freshmen. ” … It’s frustrating because we know we are better than that.”

Jamestown CC (3-4) lost the lead for good on a James Graham layup with 13:16 remaining, and then didn’t score until a Carl Jackson drive with 8:53 left to make it 51-48 in favor of the Triceratops (4-2).

“Defensively we were missing assignments,” Churnac said. “Little mistakes are getting us right now. … When little mistakes pile up they turn into big ones.”

Jamestown Community College's Jake Hougan looks to score inside. P-J photos by Matt Spielman

Tri-C’s lead eventually grew to as big as 11 with 5:40 remaining on a James Graham layup, but the Jayhawks hung close down the stretch.

Sheick Kourmora’s 3-pointer with 4:03 left made it 60-54, but the Triceratops pushed the margin back up to 10 on a pair of buckets inside from Graham.

“They were trying to take time off the clock and got four rebounds with a putback and a foul,” Jamestown CC assistant coach Jim Rissel said. “It was just what they wanted to do.”

Jamestown CC answered with a 7-0 run on a pair of Isaac Allen free throws, a Kourmora bucket and a three-point play by Allen after he finished a circus shot in the lane with 1:04 remaining.

Kourmora answered another Graham bucket with a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to two with 24 seconds left, but Dorian Crutcher made four free throws down the stretch to ice the game.

Graham, a 6-foot-7 center from Owensboro, Kentucky, led Tri-C with 27 points to go along with seven rebounds while 6-foot-5 forward Vincent Smalls added nine points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

“No. 11 killed us,” Churnac said of Graham. “He had 27 points on 24 shots. He wasn’t scoring at the highest clip.”

Kourmora led the Jayhawks with 24 points while Jordan Thomas had 11 and Allen chipped in 10.

“We had some jumpers that just kept rattling out,” Churnac said. “For whatever reason, it just wasn’t our day.”

The Triceratops took advantage of 18 Jamestown CC turnovers, converting them into 23 points.

Tri-C led early in the game, going up 18-14 with 12:38 remaining in the first half on a Crutcher 3-pointer, but Jamestown CC rattled off the next 15 points keyed by 3-pointers from Kourmora, Kane Kenyon and Allen to take a 29-18 lead with 8:18 left.

“Our energy was up,” Churnac said of his team’s first half.

The Triceratops then scored the next nine points before Kyle Butler made a 3-pointer with 4:30 remaining to give the Jayhawks a 32-27 lead. Tri-C’s Wendell Wright closed it to a two-point game with 19 seconds remaining in the opening 20 minutes, but Kourmora was fouled with one second on the clock and made a pair of free throws to make it 39-35 at halftime.

Jamestown CC then went 4:43 into the second half without a field goal before a Jashawn Robinson layup made it 44-43 in favor of the Triceratops.

“We’ve had the fight,” Churnac said, ” … but it’s getting over that hump and finishing.”

The Jayhawks will look to fix those offensive woes heading into their next game Monday, Dec. 2 against Lorain County CC at the Physical Education Complex.

“We’re just going to keep working,” Churnac said. “There are positives to take away.”

NOTES: Cuyahoga CC was 28 of 62 (45.2 percent) from the field, including 4 of 12 (33.3 percent) from 3-point range. … Jamestown CC was 21 of 61 (34.4 percent) from the field, including 10 of 24 (41.7 percent) from 3-point range. … Both teams were credited with 41 rebounds. … Cuyahoga CC committed 15 turnovers.

CUYAHOGA CC (70)

Crutcher 3-6 4-4 13, Graham 13-24 1-3 27, Wright 4-5 1-2 10, Caggins 1-5 0-0 2, Smalls 3-6 3-8 9, Battle-Holley 3-10 1-3 7, Bittala 0-2 0-0 0, Wildermuth 0-1 0-0 0, Douglas 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 28-62 10-20 70.

JAMESTOWN CC (66)

Butler 3-11 0-1 7, Daniels 1-3 0-0 3, Robinson 2-6 1-2 6, Kourmora 7-20 5-5 24, Hougan 0-1 0-0 0, Jackson 1-2 0-0 2, Bourne 0-0 0-0 0, Thomas 3-9 5-6 11, Allen 3-7 3-3 10, Tshibangu 0-1 0-0 0, Kenyon 1-1 0-0 3, Bowmer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-61 14-17 66.

Halftime–Jamestown CC 39, Cuyahoga CC 35. 3-point goals–Cuyahoga CC 4-12 (Crutcher 3-5, Wright 1-2, Battle-Holley 0-2, Bittala 0-2, Douglas 0-1), Jamestown CC 10-24 (Butler 1-2, Daniels 1-2, Robinson 1-2, Kourmora 5-11, Thomas 0-3, Allen 1-2, Tshibangu 0-1, Kenyon 1-1). Total rebounds–Cuyahoga CC 41 (Smalls 10), Jamestown CC 41 (Thomas 7). Assists–Cuyahoga CC 9 (Douglas 4), Jamestown CC 13 (Butler 4). Total fouls–Cuyahoga CC 18, Jamestown CC 17.