| EMCC Lions grab 82-66 division win at Northwest; Lady Lions fall 78-77 |
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SENATOBIA – The 23rd-ranked East Mississippi Lions improved to 9-1 overall and 2-0 in division play with an 82-66 road triumph over Northwest Mississippi Monday night at Howard Coliseum on the NWCC campus. The visiting EMCC women dropped a 78-77 decision to the Lady Rangers in the opener.
Jumping out to a double-figure lead five minutes into the contest, head coach Mark White’s reigning MACJC North Division champions went up by as many as 17 points (23-6) by the 11:01 mark before settling for a 10-point (44-34) halftime lead. Benefitting from a 50-27 rebounding advantage for the game, the visitors maintained a comfortable cushion for the better part of the second half en route to the 16-point decision. The Rangers managed to cut the deficit to eight points (72-64) with 2:20 left, but EMCC put away the contest with a 10-2 run down the stretch. East Mississippi sophomore guard Deonte Alexander led all scorers with 26 points, including 18 before intermission. Fellow sophomore Joe McCoy followed with 16 points, while Jonathan King and Deon Bedford came off the EMCC bench to contribute nine points apiece for the winners. King topped all rebounders with 11 boards on the night. The Rangers, now 5-5 overall and 0-2 in division play, were led by Reggie Fondren’s 20 points. Continuing to play without starting point guard Kiara Quinones-Noa, head coach Sharon Thompson’s Lady Lions used a 16-5 run after the break to battle back from a nine-point, first-half deficit and take a 51-43 lead by the 12:46 mark of the second stanza. The Lady Rangers steadily fought back in the contest that featured 10 lead changes and 10 ties. They reclaimed the lead on a three-point play by Erica Turner with 1:47 left. A Turner steal then led to a Brittany Patton layup to extend Northwest’s lead to 76-73. Following a three-point basket by EMCC’s Natalie Tate that knotted the game at 76-76 with just over a minute remaining, the two teams traded solo free throw makes to cause a 10th and final deadlock with 21 seconds remaining in the tight contest. NWCC’s Sandricka Bowen hit the front end of a 1-and-1 opportunity with three ticks left to account for the final margin. Freshman guard Chadisty Hickman paced the EMCC women, now 6-4 overall and 1-1 in division play, with her second double-double in the last three outings. The former Kemper County High School standout tallied a game-high 20 points and handed out a season-best 11 assists. Sophomore Shanteria Tate, of Noxubee County, matched her collegiate high with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. The home-standing Lady Rangers of Northwest, improving to 4-6 overall and 1-1 in division action, received 13 points apiece from Bowen and Lanita Futrell. The EMCC Lions play host to Marion Military Institute Friday night (Dec. 10) at 6 p.m. at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus. The Lady Lions won’t be in action again until Jan. 5 when both EMCC teams play host to Shelton State. |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 07 December 2010 ) |
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