HUTCHINSON, Kan. –- The 12th-ranked Lions of East Mississippi fell victim to a hot-shooting Navarro (TX) club in dropping a 72-58 quarterfinal-round decision Wednesday night in the NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship being played at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
Staying in the championship bracket of the double-elimination tournament due to Tuesday’s 86-65 first-round win over Brunswick (NC), the 27-6 EMCC Lions will take on fifth-ranked Northwest Florida State College Thursday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. A video stream broadcast of the contest will be available via the Internet by logging onto www.njcaa.org/tv. Falling to Three Rivers (MO), 83-73, in its quarterfinal-round contest, Northwest Florida State is led by Mississippi State signee Brian Bryant, a 6-foot-3 sophomore guard.
East Mississippi jumped out of the gates with a quick 8-0 lead two minutes into the contest and went up by a dozen points (15-3) with 15:47 remaining in the half. The momentum of the game began to change with the Bulldogs hitting the offensive boards for numerous put-back opportunities. In addition to benefitting from second-chance points, Navarro also started to heat up from the perimeter late in the half. During a 21-7 Navarro run midway through the first half, sophomore guard Darian Thibodeaux nailed three 3-pointers and a pull-up jumper.
With Navarro owning a slim 38-35 halftime lead, Thibodeaux’s tip-in basket ignited a 16-4 Navarro run early in the second half, which included four more treys by the 6-foot-2 sharpshooter during a four-minute span. Thibodeaux finished with a career-high 30 points, including 8-of-15 accuracy from beyond the arc.
After Navarro’s run made it a 12-point contest (59-47) midway through the closing period, a Terence Bennett driving basket temporarily cut the deficit to single digits with 6:48 left. By that time, however, the Bulldogs maintained control of the contest and finished off their 13th consecutive win and 30th victory of the season with the 14-point triumph.
Fellow sophomore Matt Pressey, son of former NBA player Paul Pressey, added 20 points for the winners. As a team, Navarro hit 10-of-25 shots from the three-point arc for the game, while out-rebounding EMCC by a 41-34 margin. The Bulldogs also pulled down 19 offensive rebounds in the contest.
Making a school-first appearance in the men’s national tournament, EMCC was led by Deonte Alexander’s 17 points. Fellow freshman Marino Thompson was the only other Lion player in double figures with 10 points.
Fans are able to follow this week’s NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship by visiting www.njcaabbtrny.org to access official brackets, live stats, game results, and additional information about the tournament.
|
|
Last Updated ( Thursday, 18 March 2010 )
|
|
HUTCHINSON, Kan. –- Sparked by 39 collective points from the bench, the 12th-ranked East Mississippi Lions made a successful debut in their first NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship showing with a solid 86-65 first-round victory over Brunswick (NC) Tuesday afternoon at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
In making their initial appearance in the 63rd annual postseason event, the EMCC Lions advance to meet Navarro College (TX) in second-round action of the championship bracket Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT. A video stream broadcast of the contest will be available via the Internet by logging onto www.njcaa.org/tv.
Improving their season record to 27-5, the EMCC Lions received a career-first double-double from reserve forward Richard Dixon and a career-high 16 points from backup guard Joe McCoy. A freshman from Baton Rouge, La., Dixon notched his fourth double digit-scoring effort in the last five games – all coming during the postseason – with 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. Hitting 8-of-13 shots from the field, Dixon’s scoring total was one point shy of his season-high 18 points scored against Northeast Mississippi in the opening round of the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament.
“This was a total team effort today by our guys,” said EMCC third-year head coach Mark White, recently tabbed this year’s NJCAA Division I/District 15 Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year. “With CoCo Ware playing only 24 minutes because of foul trouble, we had some players really step it up for us out there.”
With Ware, a preseason second-team NJCAA All-American, saddled with second-half foul trouble, McCoy stepped up to hit 6-of-7 shots from the field and 4-of-6 from the line en route to his career-best scoring effort. A freshman from Raymond, McCoy’s previous season high of 10 points came against Bevill State in January. Limited to a season-low 24 minutes of action, Ware finished with a season-low four points to also match his career low coming in the third game of his collegiate career a year ago.
A hot-shooting Brunswick team initially put East Mississippi in an early hole, as the Dolphins took a 25-16 lead on Tyree Graham’s 3-pointer with 11:07 remaining in the opening half. The Lions came alive with 11 unanswered points to reclaim the lead (27-25) and used a 9-2 run later in the half to maintain a 45-40 halftime lead.
“We didn’t panic in the first half, because we knew they were a good team and they were making some tough shots,” White added. “In the second half, we continued to stay with our game plan and play with tough, aggressive man-to-man defense. I thought we did a better job in the second half of attacking, driving the ball and getting to the free-throw line.”
Following back-to-back baskets from Brunswick’s Chris Smith two minutes into the second stanza, EMCC’s reserves began to make an impact. Dixon and McCoy combined for 10 points between them during a key stretch that saw the Lions increase a five-point lead to 14 points (65-51) with 9:08 left in the contest. From there, the Dolphins could not get any closer than a dozen points, as EMCC kept adding to the eventual 21-point triumph.
After both teams shot better than 53 percent through the opening half of play, East Mississippi held Brunswick to 29-percent (9-of-31) shooting from the field and to only 25 points over the final 20 minutes. The Lions’ defensive intensity translated to the offensive end, as they connected on a sizzling 65 percent (17-of-26) from the floor during the closing period to finish the contest shooting a season-high 58.6 percent (34-of-58) on the day.
With four players scoring in double figures, freshman guard Deonte Alexander, from Nashville, Tenn., contributed 16 points and seven assists for the winners. Rookie forward Marino Thompson, a former Southeast Lauderdale product, added a dozen points for the Lions, including hitting three of the team’s first five baskets during the opening few minutes of play.
In falling to 23-11 on the year and into the consolation bracket of this week’s double-elimination tournament in Hutchinson, Brunswick was led by Tyree Graham’s 17 points. Alan-Michael Thompson and Marcus Graham followed with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Fans are also able to follow this week’s NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship by visiting www.njcaabbtrny.org to access official brackets, live stats, game results, and additional information about the tournament.
|
|
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 16 March 2010 )
|
|
.jpg "Image") In leading the 12th-ranked EMCC Lions to the school’s first appearance in the NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, third-year head coach Mark White has been named the 2009-10 NJCAA District 15 Coach of the Year.
In his third season with a 54-30 career record at the EMCC men’s basketball helm, White has guided the 2009-10 Lions to a 26-5 overall record heading into this week’s NJCAA Tournament. Having taken over a men’s basketball program with just six total wins in the two seasons combined prior to his arrival in Scooba in 2007, White led his first East Mississippi club to a respectable 11-14 mark in 2007-08. A year ago, the Lions improved to 17-11 overall and finished the regular season tied for second place in the MACJC’s North Division prior to advancing to the semifinals of both the state and regional tournaments in 2009.
As this year’s MACJC North Division regular-season champions and winners of the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament, the 12th-ranked Lions are in Kansas this week (March 16-20) making the school’s first appearance in the men’s national basketball tournament. EMCC begins tournament play Tuesday by taking on Brunswick (NC) at 2 p.m. CT at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. With a win Tuesday, the Lions would advance to meet the winner of the Navarro College (TX)-Middle Georgia College contest in Wednesday’s championship bracket play at 8 p.m. CT. The losers of these respective first-round games will face each other in consolation play Thursday at 10 a.m. CT.
All 26 games of this week's NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship will be available live over the Internet. NJCAA TV (www.njcaa.org/tv) is set to video stream the entire tournament through its broadcasting partner Panhandle Sports Broadcasting. Hutchinson's own KWBW 1450 AM Radio will provide play-by-play audio with PSB handling the video production.
Fans will also be able to follow the five-day tournament by visiting www.njcaabbtrny.org to access official brackets, live stats, game results, and additional information about the tournament.
|
|
Last Updated ( Monday, 15 March 2010 )
|
|
SCOOBA – As March Madness tips off this week around the country, 12th-ranked East Mississippi’s first-round NJCAA Tournament match-up with Brunswick (NC) will feature two schools making their first appearances in the NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. Taking place Tuesday through Saturday (March 16-20), the 63rd annual national junior college hoops tournament will be held at the Sports Arena in Hutchinson, Kan.
Tuesday’s opening-round contest between EMCC and Brunswick will begin at 2 p.m. CT. The winner will advance to take on the Navarro College [TX]/Middle Georgia College winner at 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday. The losers of those two first-round games will play each other during Thursday’s consolation play at 10 a.m. CT.
Winners of this year’s NJCAA Region 23 Tournament as well as MACJC North Division regular-season champions, head coach Mark White’s EMCC Lions enter national tournament play sporting a 26-5 overall record after besting Northeast Mississippi (86-79), Hinds (81-74 in OT) and Itawamba (78-64) on consecutive nights to claim the NJCAA Region 23 championship on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton. East Mississippi also finished as runners-up to Pearl River for the MACJC State Championship, dropping a 61-58 decision to the Wildcats in the title game played on EMCC’s Scooba campus.
For the first time in the history of the prestigious event, fans will be able to watch all 26 games of this year's NJCAA Tournament live over the Internet. NJCAA TV (www.njcaa.org/tv) is set to video stream the entire tournament through its broadcasting partner Panhandle Sports Broadcasting (www.psblive.com). Hutchinson's own KWBW 1450 AM Radio (Eagle Communications) will provide play-by-play audio with PSB handling the video production.
Fans will also be able to follow the five-day tournament by visiting www.njcaabbtrny.org to access official brackets, live stats, game results, and additional information about the tournament.
As EMCC, Brunswick, North Platte (NE) and Wallace State-Hanceville (AL) all prepare to make school-first appearances in the 16-team NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament, they will be joined this week in Hutchinson by Northwest Florida State, Southeastern (IA), Monroe (NY), Three Rivers (MO), Navarro (TX), Middle Georgia, Eastern Utah, Butler (KS), Walters State (TN), Connors State (OK), Southeastern Illinois, and Howard (TX).
NJCAA DIVISION I MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
March 16-20, 2010
Hutchinson Sports Arena (Hutchinson, KS)
March 16 – First-round Games:
10:00 a.m. -- #5 Northwest Florida State (28-3) vs. Southeastern [IA] (24-10)
12:00 p.m. -- Monroe College [NY] (26-7) vs. Three Rivers [MO] (27-6)
2:00 p.m. -- #12 East Mississippi (26-5) vs. Brunswick [NC] (23-10)
4:30 p.m. -- Navarro [TX] (28-5) vs. #9 Middle Georgia (28-3)
6:30 p.m. -- #22 North Platte [NE] (28-4) vs. #25 Eastern Utah (24-9)
8:30 p.m. -- #8 Wallace State-Hanceville [AL] (29-4) vs. #15 Butler [KS] (29-5)
March 17 – First-round Games:
11:00 a.m. -- Walters State [TN] (22-8) vs. #4 Connors State [OK] (30-2)
1:00 p.m. -- Southeastern Illinois (22-9) vs. #2 Howard [TX] (29-2)
Regular season-ending NJCAA rankings precede school names and overall team records are in parentheses;
Complete bracket available at www.njcaabbtrny.org
|
|
Last Updated ( Saturday, 13 March 2010 )
|
|
|
SCOOBA –- The Lions of East Mississippi couldn’t recover from a five-run first inning by visiting Jones County in dropping a 6-2 home decision to the Bobcats in junior college baseball action Friday afternoon at EMCC’s Gerald Poole Field.
The visitors batted around in the opening frame by touching EMCC starter Tyler Richardson for five runs on four hits. Getting their first four batters on base and eventually around to score, the Bobcats sent 10 hitters to the plate in the first. The third and fourth runs of the inning reached home via a balk and wild pitch from Richardson, who lost for the first time in three decisions on the year.
Entering the contest with a five-game winning streak, the Lions received a gift run off starter Cory Williams in the second inning. EMCC freshman Tyler Aldridge singled and later came all the way around to score on a throwing error by JCJC catcher Ryan Roberts and another subsequent miscue by right fielder Darion Hamilton on a pick-off attempt at first base.
Jones County, who improved to 17-1 on the season, made it a 6-1 contest on a leadoff home run to the opposite field by Tyler Gardner in the fifth inning. EMCC’s only other run of the game came in the sixth when freshman Thomas Hays led off the inning with a single, stole second, moved to third on a groundout, and crossed the plate on a wild pitch.
Both clubs had eight hits apiece and each team left six runners on base, while EMCC and JCJC both utilized four pitchers in the contest. Sophomore center fielder Derek Beach was the only Lion to get multiple hits with a pair singles, while sophomore shortstop Brandon Kiewel managed the home team’s lone extra-base hit in the game with a leadoff double in the fifth.
A North Alabama signee, Richardson gave up five runs, with one strikeout and two walks, in three innings of work to fall to 2-1 on the season. Kameron Heiser worked an inning on the mound, followed by Beach’s two-inning stint and Lance Portera finishing out the contest.
Earlier in the day, East Mississippi completed a three-game sweep of Hibbing (Minn.) Community College by claiming a 7-3 decision. With six singles and eight stolen bases in the contest as a team, Lion freshman Hilton Gibson, of New Hope High School, led the way with two singles and two runs scored.
The first of four hurlers used by the Lions in Friday’s earlier outing, freshman Andrew Graham of Quitman picked up his first collegiate victory by striking out four and allowing only one hit in three scoreless innings of work.
Out-hitting the visiting Cardinals from the state of Minnesota by a 34-12 margin over the three-game series, EMCC swept Thursday’s doubleheader against Hibbing by scores of 6-0 and 17-2.
Head coach Tony Montgomery’s 13-7 EMCC Lions begin MACJC North Division play with a Tuesday doubleheader at Coahoma beginning at noon. Next home action for East Mississippi will be next weekend (March 20-21), with division foe Northeast Mississippi in town for a Saturday doubleheader followed by a Sunday twinbill against Williams Baptist College of Arkansas. Both doubleheaders are slated to begin at 1 p.m. at Gerald Poole Field on the Scooba campus.
|
|
Last Updated ( Saturday, 13 March 2010 )
|
|
|
----------
