| East Mississippi recovers from first-half deficits to sweep visiting Northwest |
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 The EMCC basketball teams will look to continue their current win streaks by playing host to Northeast Mississippi Thursday evening on the Scooba campus. Tip-off times are set for 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum. In the women’s contest, head coach Sharon Thompson’s EMCC squad rallied from a 24-10 deficit by scoring nine unanswered points to close the first half trailing only by a bucket (28-26). After the Lady Rangers scored the first five points of the second stanza, the Lady Lions went on a 12-2 run to take their first lead (38-35) of the game at the 13:14 mark. The contest stayed to within a five-point margin the rest of the way, as the Lady Lions never relinquished their lead. With the visitors trailing by three points (53-50) with under a minute remaining, Northwest’s Sandricka Bowen misfired on a potential game-tying 3-pointer. EMCC sophomore Kierra Jones collected the rebound and converted both ends of a 1-and-1 opportunity to put the Lady Lions on top by five points with seven ticks left on the game clock. A late Bowen trey and two subsequent free throws by EMCC freshman Kiara Quinones-Noa accounted for the final outcome. Improving to 11-7 overall and maintaining their solid second-place standing at 6-2 within the MACJC North Division, the Lady Lions were led by Jones, a former Starkville product, with 14 points and seven rebounds. Freshman Raven Howard followed with 13 points and seven boards for the winners. Off the bench, sophomore guard Natalie Tate of Columbus added nine timely points on three clutch second-half 3-pointers. Now 6-11 overall and 3-5 in division play, the Northwest women received a game-high 16 points and nine assists from Lanita Futrell. In Monday’s nightcap, head coach Mark White’s Lions also battled back from an early 14-point deficit (20-6) by running off 13 unanswered points midway through the period that led to a 38-31 halftime advantage in favor of the home team. EMCC went ahead by as many as 11 points (44-33) three minutes into the second period before the Rangers made a 10-1 run to cut the deficit to two points (45-43) by the 12:58 mark. Following a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Deonte Alexander that put the Lions on top 56-50, Northwest briefly reclaimed the lead (57-56) by the 5:19 mark after scoring seven unanswered points. After two more lead changes and missed opportunities by both teams over the next few minutes, EMCC sophomore Jonathan King scored inside to put the Lions on top (60-59) for good with 2:15 left. While holding the visitors scoreless for the final 4:28 of the contest and to without a made field goal for the final 6:05, the Lions sealed their seventh consecutive victory with 4-of-4 free throw shooting down the stretch and a timely baseline drive by sophomore Donovan Walker with 40 seconds left in the game. With five players scoring in double figures, EMCC, now 17-2 overall and 8-0 atop the MACJC’s North Division standings, was paced by a double-double effort – 13 points and 15 rebounds - from freshman Millaun Brown. A former West Bolivar High School standout, Brown hit 5-of-6 field goals on the night and collected 13 of his game-high 15 boards in the first half. Walker, a Meridian product, and freshman point guard D.J. Evans of Brandon followed with 12 points apiece for the reigning NJCAA Region 23 champions. Alexander and King each added 11 points to the winning effort. The Northwest men, falling to 9-9 overall and 3-5 in league play, received a game-high 17 points from both A.J. Cunningham and Reggie Fondren. Looking to continue their current win streaks, the East Mississippi basketball teams stay at home to play host to Northeast Mississippi Thursday evening on the Scooba campus. Game times are set for 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. at EMCC’s Currie Coliseum. |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 01 February 2011 ) |
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