EMCC - Athletics: Sports, News, Players, and Coaches. Go Lions! - EMCC basketball teams sweep at Coahoma Monday

CLARKSDALE – The East Mississippi basketball teams cruised to decisive road victories Monday night at Coahoma, with the Lady Lions prevailing 79-56 to begin the night and the EMCC men completing the divisional sweep with a 93-67 win at The Pinnacle.

Winners of three of their last four decisions, head coach Sharon Thompson’s Lady Lions built on a 33-27 halftime lead throughout the second stanza en route to the 23-point triumph over a depleted Coahoma squad that dressed out only seven players. The EMCC women improved to 11-9 overall and 5-3 in MACJC North Division play.

Sophomore standout Martika Hull, a product of Southeast Lauderdale, paced the winners with 22 points, followed by Jacquelyn Carothers and Shelby Crawford with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

In Monday’s nightcap, head coach Mark White’s Lions claimed their 10^th victory in their last 11 contests with the 26-point victory. EMCC added to a 34-26 halftime advantage during the second half on the way to improving to 18-3 overall and maintaining their North Division lead at 7-1 in league play.

Preseason NJCAA All-American CoCo Ware exploded for 25 second-half points to finish the night with a game-high 30 points along with a career-best 15 rebounds. The former Starkville High School standout now has three 30-point efforts on the season and four for his two-year EMCC career. With 947 career collegiate points to his credit, Ware entered the night ranked 33^rd nationally in scoring average at 19.1 points per contest on the year.

Freshman point guard Deonte Alexander, of Nashville, added 20 points, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, for his fourth 20-point outing of the season, while sophomore playmaker Terence Bennett followed with 13 points for the Lions. Freshman forward Jonathan King contributed eight points and a team-high nine rebounds to the winning effort.

The East Mississippi basketball teams travel to Fulton for a key hoops twinbill Thursday against Itawamba. Last month in Scooba, the EMCC squads swept the visiting ICC Indians by a 68-57 score in the women’s game and a 54-51 tally in the men’s contest.