| No. 8 EMCC falls 79-76 in OT to Baton Rouge; Lady Lions lose 72-45 to No. 7 Shelton State |
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SCOOBA – The eighth-ranked Lions of East Mississippi Community College had their 18-game home winning streak snapped with Monday’s 79-76 overtime setback to Baton Rouge Community College. In the opening game of Monday’s hoops twin bill on the Scooba campus, No. 7 Shelton State Community College claimed an easy 72-45 triumph over the EMCC Lady Lions at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.
In Monday’s nightcap, EMCC’s Lions held the early advantage with three different eight-point leads during the opening 10 minutes of the first half. The visiting Bears closed the gap and took the lead on a couple of occasions before maintaining a slim 33-32 halftime edge. Battling from behind to begin the second stanza, the home-standing Lions initially dug themselves a hole when sophomore Micah Walker was hit with two unsportsmanlike conduct technical fouls. Resulting free throws by BRCC’s DeShawn Washington increased the visitors’ lead to seven points (53-46) by the 12:31 mark. Ignited by the play of sophomore transfer Jarekious Bradley along with freshmen Jacolby Mobley and Adrian Edwards, the Lions scored 10 unanswered points midway through the half to turn a 55-49 deficit into a 59-55 lead with eight minutes remaining in regulation. As EMCC held onto the narrow lead, a pair of Bradley 3-pointers seemingly put the Lions in good position on top 70-64 with just 1:20 left to play. Another momentum changer in the contest went against the Lions minutes later when Washington was fouled by Mobley on a made three-point field goal. The subsequent made charity toss made it a two-point contest with a minute left in regulation. Following a missed runner in the lane by EMCC freshman point guard Nick Giles, Baton Rouge’s Morris Wright scored on a driving shot off the glass to knot the score at 70-70 with 8.5 ticks left. The Lions had a chance to take the contest in regulation, but Bradley’s 3-pointer misfired at the buzzer. During the extra period, Jeffrey Walker scored seven of Baton Rouge’s nine points in overtime. His left-handed drive to the basket put the Bears on top 78-76 with 35.3 seconds remaining. Walker then rebounded the second of two costly free throw misses by EMCC’s A.J. Wade and went to the line. His 1-of-2 effort at the stripe extended BRCC’s lead to 79-76 with 15.8 seconds left in the contest. As they did at the end of regulation, the Lions again had their chances during the final seconds of overtime. Bradley, who scored 29 of his season-high 34 points following intermission, could not tie the score by missing a 3-pointer during the waning seconds. EMCC received another potential opportunity when Wright fouled Giles with 5.1 ticks left to become the fourth Baton Rouge player to foul out in the contest. Even after Giles misfired on both charity tosses – the 18th and 19th misses from the line for the Lions on the night – EMCC got yet another chance when BRCC’s John Isaac was called for traveling when he fell to the floor after securing the second free throw miss. However, a second overtime was not in the cards for the home team on this night, as Edwards’ step-back, three-point attempt at the buzzer failed to connect. Falling to 2-1 on the season with their first home loss since Jan. 5, 2011 (Shelton State), the Lions also received 11 points apiece from Mobley and Walker. Bradley, a transfer from Midland College (Texas) by way of Memphis East High School, added a dozen rebounds to record his second double-double of the young season. Evening their record to 2-2 on the year, the Bears of Baton Rouge were paced by Wright and Washington with 22 and 20 points, respectively. Walker added 18 points for the winners, including seven clutch points during the overtime period. In the women’s contest, the visiting Lady Bucs scored the game’s first 10 points en route to opening up an early 15-point (22-7) advantage. The Lady Lions managed to cut the deficit to single digits on a couple of occasions late in the first half and trailed by 11 points (32-21) at the halftime break. Aided by EMCC’s 35 turnovers on the night, Shelton State’s margin stayed at double digits throughout the second stanza en route to moving to 4-0 on the season. Balanced scoring for the visitors had Brianna Lancaster leading the way with a dozen points. Juliser Harper and Katherine Goldsby followed with 11 points apiece. Freshman Wilma Davis, of West Point, led the 1-3 Lady Lions with 12 points - all in the second half - while Takera Mitchell and Nockeyia Qualls each added 10 points. Coach Sharon Thompson’s EMCC Lady Lions travel to Perkinston to play in the two-day Gulf Coast Classic prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. After meeting Baton Rouge Community College on Monday (Nov. 19), the EMCC women will take on the host MGCCC Lady Bulldogs on Tuesday. Coach Mark White’s Lions will go two weeks before returning to competition on Tuesday, Nov. 26 by taking on Georgia Highlands College in Rome. |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 13 November 2012 ) |
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