| EMCC men and women swept Monday at Jones County |
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ELLISVILLE – The East Mississippi basketball teams both fell on the road to the respective defending state champions Monday night, with the Lady Lions dropping a 70-59 decision to Jones County and the Lions having their four-game winning streak snapped with an 88-80 setback to the home-standing Bobcats.
Head coach Sharon Thompson’s Lady Lions jumped out of the gates by taking an early 13-4 lead and still owned a 30-28 edge at halftime. The Lady Bobcats took control of the contest early in the second half by scoring a dozen unanswered points. The JCJC lead grew to 15 points (59-44) by the 7:22 mark, before the visitors cut the deficit to five points (64-59) with 1:26 left in the game. However, EMCC failed to score another point down the stretch, while Jones County sealed the victory with four free throws and a put-back basket. Reigning all-state forward Martika Hull, a Southeast Lauderdale product, led the EMCC women with 19 points, seven rebounds and five steals. Freshmen Natalie Tate of Columbus and Shanteria Tate of Macon followed with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Jones County, now 6-1, received a game-high 21 points from Tanecka Carey, followed by Ashley Lee with 19 points. As was the case for EMCC in the women’s contest, head coach Mark White’s Lions grabbed an early 14-5 lead five minutes into the men’s game. After holding a slim 36-33 lead at the intermission, the Bobcats opened up a 53-46 advantage midway through the second half. With Jones County in foul trouble, EMCC fought back and took a 58-56 lead with 8:10 remaining in the contest. However, JCJC responded with a 3-pointer by Nic Combs to take the lead for good. The Bobcats were seemingly in command down the stretch, leading 81-72 with less than two minutes on the clock. An Anthony Alexander 3-pointer capped an 8-0 EMCC run to make it an 81-80 contest with a minute left. Combs again answered with a basket for Jones, but Alexander’s potential game-tying trey was off the mark. Jones County iced the home victory and evened the season series against the Lions with five made free throws over the final 39 seconds. With the eight-point setback, the Lions dropped their first decision away from home in six tries on the year. EMCC’s only other prior loss this season came at home in overtime, 79-74, to Hinds. The EMCC men had previously claimed a 90-84 home decision over the Bobcats in the season opener. In Monday’s rematch, the Lions received a game-high 23 points from freshman forward Jonathan King, including 12-of-14 from the charity stripe. Alexander, a freshman playmaker from Nashville, and former Kemper County standout Colby Wren were next with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Kendrick McDonald paced five Bobcats, now 4-3, in double figures with 21 points, including 4-of-7 accuracy from beyond the arc. The EMCC men (8-2) and women (5-4) begin MACJC North Division play Thursday at Northwest Mississippi. Thursday’s contests in Senatobia will mark the fifth consecutive road game for the Lions and fourth straight outing away from home for the Lady Lions. |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 01 December 2009 ) |
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