| EMCC basketball teams ready for regional tournament play in Clinton |
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SCOOBA – Making their second straight regional appearances, the East Mississippi Community College basketball teams will compete in the 2010 NJCAA Region 23 Tournament this week at A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton.
Women’s regional competition begins Monday with the defending NJCAA Region 23 champion EMCC Lady Lions taking on the two-time reigning state champions of Jones County at noon. Head coach Sharon Thompson’s Lady Lions enter regional play with a 14-12 overall record after dropping a 73-65 first-round decision to previously unbeaten Copiah-Lincoln in last week’s EMCC-hosted MACJC State Basketball Tournament. The JCJC Lady Bobcats are 22-5 overall with victories over Mississippi Delta (89-78 in OT), Northwest Mississippi (85-82) and Co-Lin (72-62) last week in Scooba to successfully defend their state title. The EMCC-JCJC first-round women’s contest will be televised live via webcast on www.jcjc.tv. The winner of Monday’s EMCC-JCJC contest will advance to meet the Baton Rouge-Northwest winner Wednesday at noon. Monday’s other opening-round women’s matchups have Co-Lin meeting Southwest Mississippi at 6 p.m., followed by the 8 p.m. game between Meridian and Itawamba. A year ago on the MC campus in Clinton, the EMCC Lady Lions knocked off Northwest (47-44), Jones (76-73) and Co-Lin (52-43) in the 2009 NJCAA Region 23 Tournament to earn their first NJCAA Tournament appearance in Kansas since 1978. This year’s EMCC women’s squad is headlined by sophomore forward Martika Hull, who leads the Lady Lions in scoring (15.2 ppg), rebounding (8.4 rpg), field-goal percentage (53.1%) and steals (2.4 spg). By way of Southeast Lauderdale High School, the reigning MACJC All-North State selection has recorded nine double-doubles this season, including a 26-point, 17-rebound effort in EMCC’s state tournament loss to Co-Lin last week. Freshman guard Natalie Tate of Columbus averages 12.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.2 steals an outing, while leading the Lady Lions with 41 made 3-pointers on the year. During the regular season, the Jones County women defeated EMCC both in Scooba (70-65) and Ellisville (70-59). The men tip off regional play Tuesday at Mississippi College, with Jones County taking on Itawamba at noon and state champion Pearl River meeting Southern-Shreveport at 2 p.m. Tuesday’s first-round evening session begins with Hinds battling Delgado at 6 p.m., followed by the 8 p.m. contest between 12th-ranked EMCC and Northeast Mississippi. Head coach Mark White’s 23-5 Lions earned state tournament runner-up honors last week in Scooba, besting Mississippi Gulf Coast (90-79) and Jones County (81-79 in OT) before dropping a 61-58 decision to 25th-ranked Pearl River in Thursday’s championship contest. Northeast Mississippi begins regional competition with a 12-11 overall record, though the Tigers claimed a 71-67 home victory over EMCC in the regular-season finale. The Lions previously posted a 71-64 home triumph over Northeast in late-January. The EMCC-NEMCC winner will advance to meet the Hinds-Delgado winner Wednesday at 8 p.m. Preseason NJCAA All-American CoCo Ware of Starkville ignites East Mississippi’s attack, averaging 19.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 2.4 assists per game, while also leading the team with 52 made 3-pointers on the season. Freshman playmaker Deonte Alexander, from Nashville, also scores in double figures at 13.0 points per contest, along with averaging a team-best 3.6 assists an outing and ranking second on the club with 49 made 3-pointers. Freshman forward Jonathan King tops the Lions in rebounding (6.9 rpg), while contributing 9.2 points per contest and shooting 53.8 percent from the field for the year. Last year in regional play at Mississippi College, the EMCC Lions registered a come-from-behind 83-75 opening-round victory over Southern-Shreveport before falling in the semifinals, 77-67, to Holmes. NJCAA REGION 23 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL BRACKET (March 1-4, 2010) At Mississippi College (Clinton, MS) – A.E. Wood Coliseum Monday’s Games Jones County vs. East Mississippi, noon Baton Rouge vs. Northwest, 2 p.m. Co-Lin vs. Southwest, 6 p.m. Meridian vs. Itawamba, 8 p.m. Wednesday’s Games Jones/EMCC winner vs. Baton Rouge/Northwest winner, noon Co-Lin/Southwest winner vs. Meridian/Itawamba winner, 2 p.m. Thursday’s Game Championship, 6 p.m. NJCAA REGION 23 MEN’S BASKETBALL BRACKET (March 2-4, 2010) At Mississippi College (Clinton, MS) – A.E. Wood Coliseum Tuesday’s Games Jones County vs. Itawamba, noon Pearl River vs. Southern-Shreveport, 2 p.m. Delgado vs. Hinds, 6 p.m. East Mississippi vs. Northeast, 8 p.m. Wednesday’s Games Jones/Itawamba winner vs. Pearl River/Southern-Shreveport winner, 6 p.m. Delgado/Hinds winner vs. EMCC/Northeast winner, 8 p.m. Thursday’s Game |
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| Last Updated ( Sunday, 28 February 2010 ) |
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