Not even four minutes in, the Jayhawks led, 13-0, a margin that grew to as many as 15 points on two separate occasions before the starters really broke a sweat.

And then?

The Commodores decided they didn’t bus from their Elyria, Ohio campus to the Physical Education Complex — a 170-mile drive — to be embarrassed. By halftime, they cut the deficit to six and by the final minute they were within two, but the hosts (4-4) held on for a 101-95 victory.

“It’s good that we got that experience of winning a close game,” said Jayhawks coach Xavier Churnac, who saw his team lose three of its games by six, seven and four points. “But defensively it’s got to be better and offensively we’ve got to take better care of the ball.”

Jamestown Community College’s Sheick Kourmora drives by Lorain County Community College’s De’Miko Nelson during the first half of Monday’s NJCAA game at the Physical Education Complex. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

Ironically, two of the Jayhawks most responsible for the win — Jashawn Robinson and Jake Hougan — are Ohio natives and came up big when their team needed it most.

Robinson, a 6-foot-6 freshman from Cleveland, scored 19 points (on 8 of 14 shooting from the floor) and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Hougan, a 6-8 freshman from Chadron, scored 7 of his 11 points and made a critical steal that led to a layup in an 80-second stretch late in the second half.

Those contributions, in addition to 24 points from freshman Isaac Allen, 21 points from freshman Sheick Kourmora and 14 points from freshman Kyle Butler was enough to snap the Jayhawks’ two-game losing streak.

They hope to make it two straight wins Wednesday when they travel to Butler County CC.

A victory last night wasn’t a sure thing, especially in the waning minutes, but then Hougan came up big.

With the Jayhawks clinging to a 79-77 lead, he converted a bucket and a free throw to push the lead back to five points, drove hard to the basket on Jamestown CC’s next possession for another hoop and then, finally, he made a steal that led to a layup by Allen. In a span of 1 minute, 20 seconds, Hougan was directly responsible for seven straight points.

“(Hougan) came alive a little bit,” Churnac said. “That was what we expect from Jake. That’s not a surprise to us. … We’ve been waiting.”

The Jayhawks needed Hougan’s contributions as the Commodores didn’t quit, ultimately trimming the deficit to 97-95 following a putback by Alex Wyatt with 24.5 seconds remaining. But Allen scored on a layup for Jamestown CC and Kourmora drilled a pair of free throws to finally put the game out of reach.

Lorain County CC (2-5) was led by Jaylen Jenkins with 22 points, Jacob Marsh with 20, Wyatt with 17 and Kevin Miller Jr. with 15.

NOTES: The Jayhawks shot a tidy 39 of 76 from the floor (51 percent) and grabbed 50 rebounds, while the Jayhawks were 34 of 81 from the field (42 percent) and hauled in 43 boards. … The men’s and women’s soccer teams as well as the women’s volleyball team were honored before the game for their performances during their fall seasons.

LORAIN COUNTY CC (95)

Miller 6-10 3-3 15, Nelson 1-4 0-0 2, Wyatt 7-15 3-6 17, Tucker 1-2 0-0 2, Crite 1-4 2-3 4, Conner 0-2 2-2 2, Becka 1-3 0-0 2, Jenkins 6-17 9-10 22, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Marsh 715 0-0 20, Yahnke 4-9 1-2 9, Totals 34-81 20-26 95.

JAMESTOWN CC (101)

Butler 5-8 2-7 14, Robinson 8-14 1-1 19, Kourmora 6-15 6-6 21, Allen 11-17 2-2 24, Hougan 4-5 3-5 11, Daniels 0-0 0-2 0, Bourne 2-3 0-0 4, Thomas 2-3 0-0 4, Guillen 1-3 0-0 2, Tshibangu 0-1 0-0 0, Kenyon 0-3 2-2 2, Totals 39-76 16-25 101.

Halftime — Jamestown CC 50, Lorain County CC 95. 3-point goals: Lorain County CC 7-29 (Miller 0-1, Nelson 0-3, Wyatt 0-4, Jenkins 1-8, Marsh 6-13), Jamestown CC 7-20 (Butler 2-3, Robinson 2-3, Kourmora 3-6, Allen 0-2, Bourne 0-1, Guillen 0-2, Tshibangu 0-1, Kenyon 0-1). Rebounds: Lorain County CC 43 (Yahnke 8, Miller 6), Jamestown CC 50 (Robinson 13). Assists: Lorain County CC 13 (Jenkins 4), Jamestown CC 15 (Butler 4). Steals: Lorain County CC 11 (Miller Jr. 3, Yahnke 3), Jamestown CC 7 (Butler 2, Robinson 2). Personal fouls: Lorain County CC 22, Jamestown CC 21. Fouled out: Yahnke.