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On the heels of Tuesday’s doubleheader divisional sweep of Mississippi Delta, EMCC’s basketball teams will continue their current two-game homestand by playing host to Holmes Community College Thursday on the Scooba campus. Tip-off times at EMCC’s Keyes T. Currie Coliseum are set for 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
In Tuesday’s opener, coach Sharon Thompson’s 11-4 Lady Lions jumped out to an early 14-6 advantage six minutes into the contest on the way to building a 27-18 halftime lead. After stretching the margin to as many as 16 points (41-25) four minutes into the second stanza, the EMCC women held a double-digit lead for the majority of the closing period. The visiting Lady Trojans did manage to cut the deficit to seven points on two occasions midway through the half, but the Lady Lions rode the frontline tandem of sophomore Angelique Burtts and freshman Martika Hull to post their seventh victory in the last nine games.
A native of Conyers, Ga., Burtts tallied 15 of her team-high 19 points in the second half, including three 3-pointers. The Georgia State signee also collected eight rebounds. Hull, from Southeast Lauderdale, notched her third double-double of the season with 15 points and a season-high dozen rebounds, including 11 offensive boards. As a team, EMCC collected 31 offensive rebounds in the contest.
Lady Lion sophomore point guard Kottia White from Jackson Murrah added 11 points, while sophomore forward Jasmine Abrams of Columbus posted a solid defensive performance with a season-high 13 rebounds and three blocks to go along with six points.
In Tuesday’s nightcap on the Scooba campus, coach Mark White’s 10-5 Lions saw a 13-point, first-half lead negated by a 22-9 run by visiting Mississippi Delta to knot the men’s game at 32-32 by the intermission. The contest stayed to within a two-point margin for the first eight minutes of the second stanza until EMCC freshman Coco Ware of Starkville provided a defensive spark despite struggling with his perimeter shooting. Entering the game ranked among the nation’s leaders in scoring and steals, Ware picked off a Delta pass and converted the layup for his first made field goal of the game coming at the 11:49 mark. The former Starkville High School product followed with a driving pull-up jumper to give the Lions a 51-45 lead with 11:10 remaining.
Shooting 56 percent as a team on 15-of-27 field goals in the second half, the EMCC men maintained control of the game by mounting an 11-point margin (68-57) following a pair of Ware free throws at the 3:13 mark. Five unanswered points by the Trojans cut the deficit to six points (68-62) with 2:11 left, but the Lions iced their ninth win in the last 11 outings by hitting 4-of-8 charity tosses over the final minute.
Ware led a quartet of double-digit EMCC scorers with 17 points – 15 coming after halftime – along with contributing nine rebounds and four steals. Fellow Starkville High School product Woodie Howard followed with 16 points for the second straight game, while Darian Donald of Columbus’ Caledonia High School added 14 points and nine boards.
The East Mississippi basketball teams will remain at home to play host to Holmes Community College Thursday on the Scooba campus. Tip-off times for the North Division contests at EMCC’s Keyes T. Currie Coliseum are set for 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.