| EMCC sweeps Jones County in Scooba; Lions hand Bobcats first loss with 94-91 overtime win |
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.jpg "Image") Martika Hull (left) had a season-high 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Lady Lions, while Coco Ware pumped in a season-best 34 points for the EMCC men to help lead East Mississippi to a basketball doubleheader sweep over Jones County Tuesday night at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum. In Tuesday’s opener, coach Sharon Thompson’s Lady Lions scored the game’s first eight points and managed to mount a 21-point cushion (28-7) midway through the opening period. EMCC’s margin continued to expand throughout the half and was capped by Kottia White’s banked 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the home team a comfortable 55-19 lead by the intermission. Former Southeast Lauderdale standout Martika Hull of Meridian tallied 18 of her season-high 21 points in the opening half of play for the Lady Lions. The visiting Lady Bobcats, now 4-3 on the year, managed to cut the deficit to 29 points on a couple of occasions, but EMCC wasn’t seriously challenged during the second stanza en route to completing its season sweep of Jones County. A month ago in Ellisville, the Lady Lions opened the season with a 78-76 road win over JCJC. The 29-point home win over Jones County moved the EMCC women to 7-2 on the year with a current three-game winning streak. Along with Hull recording her second double-double of the season with 21 points and 11 rebounds, sophomore guard Javitia Eades of Kemper County High School matched her career best with 16 points. Angelique Burtts, who recently signed with Georgia State during the fall signing period, had a dozen points, while White added 11 points and eight assists from her point guard position. In the nightcap, coach Mark White’s 5-3 Lions jumped out to an early 19-7 lead six minutes into the contest, while Jones County’s preseason all-American Trenton Marshall picked up his third foul of the game at the 14:00 mark. With Marshall out of the game, EMCC built a 28-9 advantage midway through the half and took a 43-29 halftime lead into the locker room when Starkville’s Coco Ware hit a running 3-pointer at the buzzer to begin his game’s heroics on the night. The visiting Bobcats, now 6-1 for the season, went on a 23-11 run to open the second stanza to cut the deficit to two points (54-52) by the 12:39 mark. With EMCC holding onto the lead for the majority of the half, Jones County climbed back to knot the contest at 74-74 on two Marshall free throws with 2:31 left in regulation. Marshall, the nation’s sixth-leading scorer who was limited to two made free throws and one shot attempt in the opening half because of early foul trouble, then knocked down a 3-pointer to give the visitors a 77-74 lead moments later. Jones County maintained the lead until Ware rattled home another 3-pointer on the move with time running out in regulation to tie the score at 82-82 heading into overtime. The overtime session stayed to within a three-point margin the entire five minutes. JCJC’s Lakendrick McCullum hit a pair of charity tosses to make it 89-89 with 50 seconds remaining. Following an EMCC timeout, Ware once again hit a dramatic running 3-pointer with 23 seconds left to give the Lions a 92-89 lead. The Bobcats followed with a put-back basket by Todd McDonald after Corey Breland’s missed triple attempt to cut the deficit to a single point. Appropriately enough on the Lions’ next possession, Ware went to the line with three ticks left on the game clock and nailed both free throws to put the home team back up by three points. Fellow Starkville High School product Woodie Howard then intercepted Danny Bolton’s court-length pass to seal the Lions’ fourth straight victory on the year and avenge their season-opening 90-86 road setback to the Bobcats. Averaging 25.8 points over his last five outings, Ware finished with a career-high 34 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the field, including 5-of-7 accuracy from behind the arc, and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. Howard recorded his third consecutive double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Darian Donald of Columbus and Memphis’ Cataurius Taylor contributed 16 and 15 points, respectively, to the winning effort. Marshall led the Bobcats with 23 points, including 5-of-7 from three-point range before fouling out in overtime, while freshman standout Brandon Wilson had 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting before fouling out with 2:42 left in regulation. The East Mississippi basketball teams continue their three-game home stand Thursday with the women taking on Alabama Southern and the men playing host to Bevill State-Jasper. Tip-off times are set for 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. at Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus. |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 03 December 2008 ) |
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