| EMCC tips off home hoops slate Thursday against East Central; Lions move to 16th in NJCAA poll |
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.jpg "Image") The EMCC basketball teams tip off their 2010-11 home hoops slate Thursday evening by playing host to East Central at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus. Less than two weeks ago (Nov. 6) in Decatur, EMCC and ECCC split a pair of games at the Brackeen-Wood Physical Education Building on East Central’s campus. The visiting Lions claimed a decisive 90-57 victory over East Central in the men’s contest following the Lady Lions’ 70-65 setback to the home-standing ECCC women. Currently tied for 16th nationally in this week’s NJCAA Division I men’s basketball poll, head coach Mark White’s EMCC Lions are 4-0 on the year after having knocked off their first four opponents by an average margin of 18.3 points per victory. Following a tight 98-92 season-opening win at Jones County, the reigning NJCAA Region 23 champions have since recorded double-digit road triumphs over East Central (90-57), Hinds (76-62) and Meridian (94-74). With only four sophomores on their 13-man roster, the Lions are being led in scoring thus far by a trio of those veterans. Nashville’s Deonte Alexander, an MACJC All-North Division selection as a freshman, is averaging a team-leading 18.8 points per game following his 32-point performance last week at Meridian. Meridian’s Donovan Walker and Joe McCoy, a former Raymond High School product, follow at 14.5 and 14.3 points per contest, respectively. Freshman playmaker D.J. Evans of Brandon is also averaging in double figures at 13.8 points an outing. Head coach Sharon Thompson’s EMCC Lady Lions have evened their record at 2-2 on the year with recent twin-digit road wins over Meridian (86-71) and Hinds (74-56). Coming off last year’s 15-13 campaign, the East Mississippi women opened the current season by falling away from home to defending state champion Jones County (85-73) and East Central (70-65). With eight sophomores dotting their roster, the Lady Lions have to this point been paced by the freshman backcourt tandem of Chadisty Hickman of Kemper County and Kiara Quinones-Noa from Puerto Rico. Averaging a club-best 19.5 points per game, Hickman has led the EMCC women in scoring during each of the team’s first four contests. Quinones-Noa and Meridian CC transfer Kierra Jones of Starkville follow at 13.0 and 11.0 points per contest, respectively. Sophomore guard Natalie Tate of Columbus is adding 9.8 points, while fellow veteran RoTasha Windom of Kemper County is contributing 8.0 points and a team-most 10.8 rebounds an outing. Following Thursday’s home doubleheader against ECCC, the East Mississippi basketball teams will go their separate ways next week for the first time this season. The EMCC women will head to Perkinston to take on Alabama Southern and Baton Rouge on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, in Mississippi Gulf Coast’s tournament. The Lions will venture to the neighboring state of Alabama to meet host Shelton State and Bevill State in a two-day tournament beginning Monday in Tuscaloosa. |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 17 November 2010 ) |
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