| EMCC men hold off Jones County 92-86 in OT; Lady Lions fall 72-71 to JCJC despite comeback |
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SCOOBA – The East Mississippi Lions held on for a 92-86 overtime home win over Jones County Monday night at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus. Despite a late comeback attempt in the opener, the EMCC Lady Lions had their five-game win streak snapped with a 72-71 setback to JCJC in the women’s contest.
In Monday’s nightcap, head coach Mark White’s EMCC Lions used a pair of 9-0 runs early in the second half to mount a seemingly comfortable 15-point advantage (57-42) eight minutes into the closing period. EMCC still maintained a nine-point lead (75-66) with three minutes left in regulation before the visiting Bobcats went on a 13-4 run down the stretch to knot the score. Jones County grabbed its first lead (78-76) since the opening field goal of the second half on a basket by Derrious Gilmore with just under a minute remaining in regulation. After JCJC’s Albert Peterson hit one of two free throws to make it a three-point game, EMCC freshman point guard D.J. Evans converted a three-point play with 18.7 seconds left to even the score at 79-79 and send the contest into overtime. East Mississippi sophomore guard Deonte Alexander scored six of his 14 points during the extra session and assisted on Curtis Hall’s go-ahead basket to key the Lions’ overtime effort. A product of Nashville and reigning All-MACJC North Division performer, Alexander all but sealed the victory by hitting all three free throws after getting fouled on a three-point shot attempt with 16.6 seconds left. Ranked 16th nationally in the NJCAA poll and improving to 7-1 on the season, EMCC had six players reach double figures in the scoring column. Off the bench, sophomore forward Jonathan King of Panama had 18 points and 16 rebounds to lead the way. Fellow sophomore Joe McCoy followed with 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists, while Evans added 13 points and eight assists to the winning effort. Falling to 3-4 on the year, the Jones County men were paced by Kelvin Nixon with 18 points, while Gilmore and Kadeem Fleming followed with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Completing their regular-season sweep of Jones County with Monday’s six-point triumph, the EMCC men tipped off the current campaign with a 98-92 road win over the Bobcats back on Nov. 1. The Lions have now claimed three straight series wins over JCJC, including last year’s 81-79 overtime victory over the Bobcats in the semifinals of the EMCC-hosted 2010 MACJC State Basketball Tournament. Since White assumed the Lions’ head coaching duties in 2007, the nine EMCC-JCJC series meetings have been decided by an average margin of just 4.7 points per outing. In Monday’s opener, head coach Sharon Thompson’s EMCC Lady Lions battled from behind most of the contest before having a chance to send the women’s game into overtime. Trailing by 10 points (70-60) with less than two minutes remaining, EMCC went on a 10-1 run to cut the deficit to one point (71-70). After JCJC standout Tanecka Carey connected on one of two free throws to make it 72-70 with 6.9 seconds remaining, EMCC sophomore RoTasha Windom was fouled under the basket with a chance to send the contest into overtime. Only a 35-percent free throw shooter on the year entering the game, Windom drilled the first attempt but came up short on the second try to halt the Lady Lions’ valiant comeback attempt. The EMCC women were once again led by freshman guard Chadisty Hickman of Kemper County, who registered her first collegiate double-double with season-high marks of 24 points and 10 assists. Freshman Raven Howard and Windom added nine and eight points, respectively, for the 5-3 Lady Lions. As reigning two-time MACJC state champions, the 5-2 Lady Bobcats were paced by Carey, a Southern Miss signee, with 13 points. Elyssa McKenzie was the only other player in double digits with 11 points. The East Mississippi basketball teams stay at home to tip off MACJC North Division play by playing host to Holmes Community College on Thursday. Game times are slated for 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. at EMCC’s Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus. |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 30 November 2010 ) |
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