| East Mississippi opens basketball season with Monday split at Jones County |
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ELLISVILLE – The East Mississippi basketball teams earned a season-opening split at Jones County Monday night to tip off the 2010-11 basketball campaign. The EMCC men held on for a 98-92 victory over the Bobcats in the nightcap at A.B. Howard Gymnasium, while the Lady Lions dropped an 85-73 decision to JCJC in Monday’s opener.
With four players in double figures, head coach Mark White’s 29th-ranked Lions were led by sophomore swing man Donovan Walker of Meridian with a career-high 22 points, including four straight clutch free throws over the final 20 seconds to ice the road victory. With a trio of 3-pointers early in the contest that helped spark the visitors to a 28-12 first-half lead, fellow sophomore Deonte Alexander from Nashville followed with 19 points. In their collegiate debuts, EMCC freshmen D.J. Evans (Brandon) and Millaun Brown (West Bolivar HS) added 17 and 12 points, respectively, for the winners. In the women’s contest, the Lady Lions couldn’t hold onto an early 10-2 lead despite hitting 23-of-25 free throws in the game. Trailing by five points (45-40) at the intermission, EMCC stayed within striking distance throughout the contest. However, the visitors could only manage a pair of free throws over the final 2:30 of the contest after cutting the deficit to 77-71. Sophomore Tanecka Carey, a University of Southern Mississippi commitment, did much of the damage for the two-time defending MACJC state champion JCJC Lady Bobcats with game-high totals of 31 points and 12 rebounds. Coach Sharon Thompson’s EMCC women also had four players score in double figures, with freshman guards Chadisty Hickman of Kemper County and Kiara Quinones-Noa leading the way with 21 and 13 points, respectively, in their collegiate debuts. Sophomores Natalie Tate (Columbus) and Kierra Jones (Starkville) followed with 11 points apiece for the Lady Lions. Tipping off their 2010-11 hoops campaign with four consecutive road dates, the East Mississippi basketball teams return to action Saturday afternoon (Nov. 6) at East Central. The women’s game is set to begin at 2 p.m. followed by a 4 p.m. men’s contest in Decatur. |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 02 November 2010 ) |
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