| EMCC to host Northeast in Tuesday hoops DH; Lions look to get back into national rankings picture |
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.jpg "Image") The EMCC basketball teams resume MACJC North Division competition by playing host to Northeast Mississippi Tuesday evening on the Scooba campus. A 5:30 p.m. women’s contest will be followed by a 7:30 p.m. men’s game at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum. Coming off consecutive NJCAA Region 23 championships and back-to-back NJCAA National Tournament appearances, head coach Mark White’s EMCC men’s squad was ranked seventh in this year’s preseason NJCAA Top 20 poll. Following tough November road losses to Northwest Florida State College and Shelton State CC, currently ranked No. 1 and No. 18, respectively, in the national poll, the Lions have bounced back to win six straight contests. Collectively 24-2 in divisional play dating back to the 2009-10 campaign, the two-time reigning MACJC North Division champions are 2-0 within the division this season with a 69-58 road victory over Holmes and a 95-67 home triumph over Northwest Mississippi during the first week of December. Most recently, the 9-2 EMCC Lions claimed double-digit road wins over rivals East Central (86-61) and Meridian (75-65) last week. Averaging 85.9 points per game as a team, the EMCC men are defeating their opposition by an average margin of 24.2 points per contest with all nine victories coming by double figures. Defensively, the Lions are limiting their opponents to an average of only 61.7 points per outing. With six different players averaging between 17 and seven points per game on the year, the East Mississippi men’s team is led in scoring by the sophomore tandem of D.J. Evans at the point position and Colin Borchert from his forward spot. Evans, from Brandon, leads the Lions in scoring (17.2 ppg), assists (4.4 apg) and steals (1.8 spg). The former Jackson All-Metro selection by The Clarion-Ledger newspaper is coming off a season-best, 29-point effort in last Thursday’s victory at Meridian CC. Borchert, a 6-foot-8, 225-pound transfer from Yavapai College (Ariz.), is EMCC’s second-leading scorer (16.5 ppg) and No. 2 rebounder (7.8 rpg) on the year. In addition to shooting 52 percent from the field, including 18-of-45 (40%) from beyond the arc, and 77 percent from the charity stripe, the Arizona native leads the Lions with 17 blocked shots and ranks second on the club with 21 assists and 15 steals. With two MACJC North Division regular-season titles over the past three years, head coach Sharon Thompson’s EMCC Lady Lions are currently 4-8 overall and 1-1 in division action on the season. Having most recently split a pair of games on the road last week by beating East Central (67-61) and falling to Meridian (59-54), the East Mississippi women opened division play back in December by dropping a 79-78, double-overtime decision at Holmes and then rebounding with a 71-56 home triumph over Northwest Mississippi. Along with half of their season setbacks having come against teams presently ranked in the NJCAA Top 20 women’s poll – No. 2 Northwest Florida State, No. 5 Pensacola State and two losses to 13th-ranked Shelton State – six of the Lady Lions’ eight losses on the year have been by seven points or less. The EMCC women are led by the sophomore backcourt duo of Chadisty Hickman and Alvida Clemons, who are averaging 13.9 and 11.7 points per game, respectively, through the first dozen contests. Hickman, a former Kemper County High School standout, also paces the Lady Lions in assists (3.8 apg) and steals (1.7 spg) while also averaging 5.3 rebounds an outing on the year. Having thus far played the same MACJC North Division competition as the EMCC teams this season, the 5-7 Northeast Mississippi women have also beaten Northwest Mississippi (74-64) but fallen to Holmes (66-61). Ranked 17th nationally in last week’s NJCAA Top 20 poll, the 10-1 NEMCC Tigers managed a 102-95, triple-overtime road win over Northwest but followed with a 74-50 home setback to Holmes during the first week of December. |
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 16 January 2012 ) |
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