| EMCC resumes hoops play by hosting Shelton State in Wednesday doubleheader |
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.jpg "Image") The EMCC basketball teams resume hardwood action Wednesday evening on the Scooba campus by playing host to Shelton State in a hoops doubleheader set to tip off at 5:30 p.m. at Currie Coliseum. Wednesday’s nightcap figures to take on added significance for head coach Mark White’s 10-1 men’s squad, as the 19th-ranked EMCC Lions look to avenge their lone loss of the current campaign. Riding a current five-game winning streak, the Lions’ only setback on the year was a 75-67 loss at Shelton State back on Nov. 22. In that prior road contest, East Mississippi was outscored, 39-25, in the second half by the home-standing SSCC Buccaneers after giving up a 42-36 halftime lead. Shelton State also outscored EMCC, 24-5, from the charity stripe in the year’s initial meeting. Having most recently claimed a 93-88 home triumph over Marion Military Institute on Dec. 10, the Lions are 2-0 in MACJC North Division play with league victories over Holmes (79-69) and Northwest Mississippi (82-66) on Dec. 2 and 6, respectively. The EMCC men feature five players scoring in double figures on the year, led by sophomore guard Deonte Alexander of Nashville, Tenn. One of two Lion players to have started all 11 games this season, Alexander leads the Lions in scoring (16.7 ppg), steals (2.3 spg) and made 3-pointers (32). Former All-Metro Jackson point guard D.J. Evans of Brandon is averaging 14.4 points and a team-most 4.8 assists an outing, while sophomore Donovan Walker of Meridian follows with 11.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest. Fellow sophomore forward Jonathan King contributes 11.3 points and a club-high 9.1 rebounds per game along with shooting 48 percent from the field and a team-best 78 percent from the free throw line. In Wednesday’s 2011 opener, head coach Sharon Thompson’s 6-4 EMCC Lady Lions will be in action for the first time in nearly a month when they entertain the Lady Bucs of Shelton State. Prior to the holiday break, the East Mississippi women split a pair of MACJC North Division outings by claiming a 58-49 home triumph over Holmes and dropping a 78-77 decision at Northwest Mississippi on Dec. 2 and 6, respectively. Leading the way thus far for the Lady Lions has been freshman guard Chadisty Hickman from Kemper County. The Preston native is averaging a team-high 19.8 points per contest while having tallied between 16 and 24 points in all 10 games on the season. With a pair of double-doubles (points and assists) over her last three outings, Hickman also averages a club-best 4.3 assists per game. Fellow freshman guard Kiara Quinones-Noa of Puerto Rico averages 10.4 points on the year and should be ready to return to the EMCC lineup this week after sitting out the last five contests with an injured knee. Kierra Jones, a former Starkville High School product, ranks as the Lady Lions’ third-leading scorer (8.1 ppg) and No. 3 rebounder (4.4 rpg) on the year. Sophomore RoTasha Windom, also a Kemper County product, is contributing 7.8 points and a team-most 9.6 rebounds an outing. The East Mississippi basketball teams resume divisional competition next week by traveling to Northeast Mississippi Community College for a Monday doubleheader before returning home to play host to Meridian CC in a Thursday (Jan. 13) twinbill on the Scooba campus. |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 04 January 2011 ) |
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