.jpg "Image") NJCAA Region 23 Coach of the Year Buddy Stephens is slated to serve as a co-host on WCBI-TV’s season finale of “The End Zone presented by OCH Rehab Services” Friday night.
Also set to feature WCBI-TV sports anchor Tim Kelchner on location in Tupelo, Friday’s sports telecast will air live beginning at 10:15 p.m. The popular high school football show will continue to be seen on My Mississippi (MyMS) from 10:35 p.m. until 11 p.m. Friday night following WCBI’s programming. The program will also be available to be seen in its entirety on WCBI.com beginning at around 11:30 p.m. Friday, as well as on WCBI-TV at 12:35 a.m. late Friday night and again at 10 a.m. Saturday morning on My Mississippi (MyMS).
Stephens, the 2009 NJCAA Region 23 Coach of the Year, has guided the EMCC Lions to a two-year composite record of 18-3, including this year’s school-first MACJC state football championship, two straight MACJC North Division titles and back-to-back state playoff appearances for the first time in school history, Currently ranked fifth nationally in the NJCAA/JCFootball.com poll, but also rated fourth in the JC Grid-Wire National Top 25 and third in the JCGridiron.com Dirty 30, the 10-1 Lions will take on the sixth-ranked Matadors of Arizona Western College in next month’s 2009 Mississippi Bowl. The second edition of the Biloxi-hosted football bowl contest will be played Sunday, Dec. 6, with kickoff set for 2 p.m. at 6,000-seat Biloxi Indian Stadium.
General admission tickets for the 2009 Mississippi Bowl are available at a pre-sale price of $8 per ticket by ordering online at www.mississippibowl.com or by calling the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Foundation Office at (601) 928-6344. Tickets will be $10 at the gate on the day of the game.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 19 November 2009 )
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.jpg "Image") Head coach Sharon Thompson’s 3-3 EMCC Lady Lions dropped a 64-53 home decision to Meridian Wednesday night on the Scooba campus.
During a tightly contested first half of play that featured four ties, the home-standing Lady Lions narrowed a seven-point deficit late in the half to just two points (28-26) by the break on a Malashia Chandler driving basket followed by a 3-pointer by Natalie Tate coming at the halftime buzzer.
A basket by Tate was the only scoring the EMCC women could muster during the opening four minutes of the second stanza, as the Lady Eagles broke open the contest with their 14-2 run. After all-region sophomore forward Martika Hull picked up her third foul for the Lady Lions at the 17:06 mark, Meridian pushed the margin to 42-28 with a 3-pointer by Sharda’e Johnson and a driving basket from Tiara Logan.
Back-to-back buckets by EMCC freshman Nashedra Barry, a former Columbus High School standout, cut the deficit to 10 points (42-32), but the home team could not get any closer than eight points until the final minutes of the contest. With the Lady Lions trailing by eight points (57-49) with just under two minutes remaining, Hull gathered up a loose ball after a missed free throw by teammate Raona Stowers and promptly made it a six-point contest.
Hull then had a chance to pull EMCC to within four points, but the former Southeast Lauderdale product couldn’t convert the breakaway layup following a steal. Johnson hit a baseline floater for the Lady Eagles, while EMCC freshman Skylar Barnes misfired on a three-point attempt. Meridian sealed the 11-point road triumph by hitting 5-of-6 from the charity stripe during the final 40 seconds of the contest.
Kierra Jones of Starkville and Johnson led the winners with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Brittany Bohannon of Kemper County (11) and Logan (10) were also in double figures for Meridian, now 3-1 on the season.
Natalie Tate, by way of Columbus High School, topped all scorers with 15 points for the Lady Lions. Hull recorded a double-double with a dozen points and 10 rebounds, while Barry scored nine of her 11 points in the second half on 4-of-4 shooting during the final 20 minutes.
Head coach Sharon Thompson’s 3-3 EMCC Lady Lions travel to Perkinston to take part in the Gulf Coast Classic on Monday and Tuesday (Nov. 23-24).
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 19 November 2009 )
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.jpg "Image") Coach Mark White’s EMCC Lions moved to 7-1 on the season with back-to-back road wins over East Central and Marion Military earlier this week. Coach Sharon Thompson’s 3-2 Lady Lions play host to Meridian Community College Wednesday evening (6 p.m.) at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus.
Following Monday’s narrow 78-75 road triumph over East Central, head coach Mark White’s EMCC club raced to a 19-point advantage in the first half against MMI on the way to a 38-24 halftime lead. After Marion Military cut the deficit to seven points following the break, the visiting Lions pushed the margin back up to 23 points before settling for the 20-point road win.
The Lions, now 7-1 on the season, were led by freshman point guard Anthony Alexander of Nashville with 20 points and five assists. Sophomore guard Terence Bennett of Jackson contributed 18 points off the bench, while former Kemper County standout Colby Wren recorded a double-double with 13 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Preseason NJCAA All-American CoCo Ware of Starkville totaled 13 points, nine boards, five steals and four assists for the winners.
The East Mississippi men’s team returns to action next Monday (Nov. 23) by playing at Bevill State in Jasper.
Looking to bounce back from Monday’s 72-64 setback at East Central, head coach Sharon Thompson’s 3-2 EMCC Lady Lions play host to Meridian Community College Wednesday evening on the Scooba campus. Tip-off at EMCC’s Keyes T. Currie Coliseum is set for 6 p.m.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 18 November 2009 )
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.jpg "Image") The 2009 Mississippi Bowl, slated for Sunday, Dec. 6 in Biloxi, will pit the No. 5 East Mississippi Lions and the sixth-ranked Matadors of Arizona Western College.
General admission tickets for the Dec. 6 bowl contest are available at a pre-sale price of $8 per ticket by ordering online at www.mississippibowl.com or by calling the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Foundation Office at (601) 928-6344. Tickets will be $10 at the gate on the day of the game.
Ranked fifth nationally in this week’s NJCAA/JCFootball.com poll, head coach Buddy Stephens’ 10-1 Lions enter the Mississippi Bowl riding a seven-game winning streak after claiming the school’s first-ever state football championship with a 75-71 home triumph over the two-time defending state champions of Mississippi Gulf Coast earlier this month (Nov. 7). With a composite two-year mark of 18-3 under Stephens’ guidance, EMCC has claimed back-to-back MACJC North Division championships and made consecutive state football playoff appearances for the first time in school history.
Guided by second-year head coach Tom Minnick, the Matadors of Arizona Western College are 9-1 on the year as regular-season co-champions (with Snow College) of the Western States Football League. Based in Yuma, Ariz., AWC’s lone setback of the year was a 40-33 loss at New Mexico Military Institute back on Oct. 17.
While EMCC’s potent offensive attack is directed by All-America quarterback candidate Randall Mackey, Arizona Western features the nation’s leading rusher in freshman running back Reggie Bullock of Las Vegas. Despite missing a pair of late-season games due to injury, Bullock averages an NJCAA-best 162 rushing yards per game and trails only Vick Ballard of Mississippi Gulf Coast with 17 rushing touchdowns on the season.
Having tied the school record with 10 wins this season, the 2009 Lions will be making the program’s first postseason bowl appearance since Hall of Fame head coach Bob “Bull” Sullivan’s 10-1-1 EMJC squad claimed the 1963 Hospitality Bowl title with an 18-14 victory over Tyler (Texas) Junior College in a contest played in Gulfport. Prior to that, Sullivan’s Lions posted a 13-6 win over Marion (Ala.) Military Institute in the Columbus-hosted 1962 Magnolia Bowl, while also dropping a 26-0 decision to Wharton (Texas) Junior College during the 1961 Hospitality Bowl in Gulfport. In addition, Sullivan’s first East Mississippi team fell, 46-20, to Holmes in the 1950 Laurel Lions Bowl.
This year’s other NJCAA football bowl games include: top-ranked Fort Scott CC (Kan.) vs. No. 2 Blinn College (Texas) in the Citizen’s Bank Bowl (Dec. 6 in Pittsburg, Kan.); No. 3 Grand Rapids CC (Mich.) vs. No. 8 Snow College (Utah) in the Zions Bank Top of the Mountains Bowl (Dec. 5 in Salt Lake City, Utah); No. 4 Navarro College (Texas) vs. No. 7 Mississippi Gulf Coast CC in the C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl (Dec. 5 in Copperas Cove, Texas); No. 9 Central Lakes College (Minn.) vs. No. 13 Ellsworth CC (Iowa) in the Graphic Edge Bowl (Nov. 22 in Cedar Falls, Iowa); Glendale CC (Ariz.) vs. No. 11 Dean College (Mass.) in the Valley of the Sun Bowl (Dec. 5 in Phoenix, Ariz.); No. 14 Rochester CTC (Minn.) vs. No. 19 Coffeyville CC (Kan.) in the North Star Bowl (Nov. 21 in Rochester, Minn.); and No. 16 New Mexico Military Institute vs. No. 20 Hutchinson CC (Kan.) in the Central Bank Salt City Bowl (Dec. 5 in Hutchinson, Kan.).
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 17 November 2009 )
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.jpg "Image") Former Southeast Lauderdale standouts Marino Thompson (left) and Martika Hull played key roles in EMCC’s basketball victories Thursday night at Currie Coliseum. Thompson totaled 18 points, nine rebounds, six blocks and three steals against Meridian Community College for the 5-1 Lions, while Hull led the 3-1 Lady Lions versus Shelton State with a career-high 32 points on 12-of-13 shooting from the field.
Coach Mark White’s 5-1 Lions jumped out to a 19-2 lead eight minutes into the game, before Ma’Quirus Burton hit a 3-pointer at the 11:42 mark for Meridian’s first made field goal of the game. After owning a 37-25 halftime advantage, EMCC scored the first nine points of the second stanza to stretch the lead to 21 points (48-27) four minutes into the half. The margin ballooned to 36 points (67-31) by the midway mark of the second half, as the Lions breezed to the convincing 17-point final outcome.
Preseason NJCAA All-American CoCo Ware of Starkville led all scorers with 25 points, while former Southeast Lauderdale standout Marino Thompson totaled 18 points, nine rebounds, six blocks and three steals for the winners. Meridian High School product Donovan Walker and former Kemper County star Colby Wren added 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Though they struggled finding the range from beyond the arc with 1-of-20 three-point shooting, the Lions benefitted defensively from 21 steals and eight blocked shots. Offensively, EMCC was 35-of-84 (42%) from the field overall and 11-of-20 (55%) from the line.
Rashad Robinson led Meridian with 19 points, followed by Brandon Pettaway with 16 points.
In Thursday’s opening contest, head coach Sharon Thompson’s EMCC women started the second half on a 21-2 run after trailing by 23 points (36-13) late in the opening half of play. After going without a made field goal for the final nine minutes of the first half, the Lady Lions hit their first nine field-goal attempts following the break to take their first lead (39-38) of the game at the 15:16 mark on a fast-break basket by Shanteria Tate of Macon.
Once EMCC pulled even with the Lady Bucs, the second half featured a dozen lead changes and four deadlocks before heading to the overtime session tied at 61-61. The 3-1 Lady Lions seemingly took control in overtime following Martika Hull’s three-point play and Tate’s three-point basket. However, Shelton State had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but Saraethea Brown’s three-point attempt following a steal of an EMCC in-bounds pass was off target.
Hull, also a product of Southeast Lauderdale, paced the winners with a career-high 32 points – 24 coming on perfect 9-of-9 shooting from the field in the second half. Hull was 12-of-13 from the field for the contest. Tate was EMCC’s only other double-digit scorer with 14 points – 11 coming in the second stanza.
In shooting 44 percent (23-of-52 FGs) from the field for the game, the Lady Lions bounced back from a miserable first-half shooting effort (4-of-21 for 19%) to make 61 percent (19-of-31 FGs) of their second-half shot attempts, including a perfect 5-of-5 from three-point range. EMCC was also 19-of-34 (56%) from the charity stripe on the night.
Allison Michael led Shelton State with 21 points, followed by Areial Woods and Nicole Caddell with a dozen points each.
The East Mississippi basketball teams travel to Decatur to take on East Central Monday night at 6 and 8 p.m. EMCC swept East Central earlier this month in Scooba by scores of 58-56 in the women’s game and 63-56 in the men’s contest.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 13 November 2009 )
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