| East Mississippi rallies from halftime deficits to sweep visiting East Central |
|
|
|
SCOOBA – The East Mississippi basketball teams both came back from halftime deficits to sweep visiting East Central in a rematch doubleheader Thursday night at EMCC’s Keyes T. Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus. Following the Lady Lions’ 58-50 victory over ECCC in the opener, the Lions remained undefeated by claiming a come-from-behind 81-77 win over the East Central men in the nightcap.
Ranked 16th in this week’s NJCAA poll, head coach Mark White’s Lions bounced back from a 10-point, second-half deficit (51-41) to complete their season sweep of the Warriors. EMCC recorded a convincing 90-57 road triumph over the Warriors earlier this month in Decatur. As the Lions still trailed by nine points (55-46) with 14 minutes remaining in Thursday’s Scooba contest, freshman playmaker D.J. Evans ignited a 10-0 EMCC run by hitting three straight baskets and assisting on a Joe McCoy 3-pointer. After the Lions went up by as many as five points (70-65) with six minutes left, a 10-2 East Central run over the next three minutes put the visitors back on top by three points (75-72) with 3:02 left in the grudge match. With EMCC holding the Warriors to without a made field goal over the final 4:50, Deon Bedford’s alley-oop slam from Evans at the 1:20 mark put the home team back in front 76-75. With the aid of another Evans basket and a game-clinching steal by McCoy in the waning moments, the Lions were able to ice their fifth straight victory at the charity stripe down the stretch. A sophomore guard from Raymond High School, McCoy scored 13 of his career-high 21 points in the second half to top all scorers. Sophomore Jonathan King registered his first double-double of the year with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Evans, a former All-Metro Jackson selection at Brandon High School, finished with 14 points and six assists, while Meridian’s Donovan Walker followed with 10 points – all in the second half. Falling to 5-3 on the season, Kenneth Barlow paced a quintet of double-digit East Central scorers with 17 points. Curtis Loving and Anthony Nieves added 16 and 13 points, respectively, for the visitors. Head coach Sharon Thompson’s EMCC women, now 3-2 on the year, rallied from a 22-18 halftime deficit to avenge their 70-65 setback to East Central earlier this month in Decatur. Winners of three straight games after a 0-2 start, the Lady Lions used a 13-2 run early in the second half to reclaim a lead they would not relinquish. For the fifth straight outing, freshman Chadisty Hickman of Kemper County led East Mississippi with 19 points. Sophomore transfer Kierra Jones of Starkville scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half, while Columbus’ Natalie Tate netted all 11 of her points after intermission. The 3-5 Lady Warriors were led by Deidra Hawkins and Ja’Monica Orton with 15 and 13 points, respectively. 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. |
|
| Last Updated ( Friday, 19 November 2010 ) |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|