| Seventh-ranked EMCC Lions thrash Southern Sports Academy 135-69 in season hoops debut |
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SCOOBA – With seven players in double figures and 81 second-half points, the seventh-ranked East Mississippi Community College men’s basketball team made a big splash in their season debut with a resounding 135-69 home thrashing of Southern Sports Academy Wednesday night at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus.
Opening the campaign ranked No. 7 nationally in the NJCAA’s Preseason Top 20 poll, head coach Mark White’s two-time defending NJCAA Region 23 champions shot 63 percent (57-of-90) from the field on the night, including 74 percent (35-of-47) accuracy in the second half. A 54-30 halftime lead quickly ballooned to 30 points (63-33) less than two minutes into the second half. The Lions managed to double-up the visitors from Jackson by 11:00 mark, as sophomore Deon Bedford’s 3-pointer made it 98-49. Shortly thereafter, fellow sophomore Tradarrius McPhearson hit a pair of free throws to put the home team at the century mark with more than 10 minutes still left on the game clock. EMCC’s scoring parade was led by freshman guard Jalen Houston’s team-high 18 points, including 13 in the second half for the Tuscaloosa native. Transfer forward Colin Borchert, from Phoenix, Ariz., followed with 17 points, while former Brandon High School standout playmaker D.J. Evans added 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 6-of-6 from the line to go along with his five assists. McPhearson, from Raymond High School, tallied a dozen of his 14 points after halftime, hitting all four of his second-half attempts from the field and 3-of-3 from the charity stripe. Fellow sophomore Millaun Brown, of West Bolivar High School, notched his third career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Making his collegiate debut from Jonesboro, Ark., freshman Micah Walker added 13 points, on 6-of-9 shooting, and eight boards off the EMCC bench. Southern Sports Academy’s Jaihlen Teague tied for game scoring honors with 18 points, followed by Roman Machiroux and Thomas Akin with 13 and 11 points, respectively. The EMCC Lions venture to Niceville, Fla., with the Lady Lions squad, to compete in the two-day (Nov. 4-5) Quality Inn Classic, hosted by Northwest Florida State College. On Friday, head coach Sharon Thompson will lead her EMCC Lady Lions against preseason No. 2-ranked Pensacola State College in a 1:30 p.m. season-opening contest. The EMCC men’s team will follow Friday with a 3:30 p.m. tip-off versus Alabama Southern Community College. On Saturday, both East Mississippi basketball teams will take on the home-standing Raiders of Northwest Florida State College. Following the 5:30 p.m. women’s contest, the seventh-ranked Lions will meet the No. 11 NWF State men’s squad in a 7:30 p.m. battle of preseason-ranked teams. All games this weekend will be played at The Arena on NWF State’s campus in Niceville. |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 02 November 2011 ) |
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