EMCC - Athletics: Sports, News, Players, and Coaches. Go Lions!

SCOOBA – For the second straight year, East Mississippi Community College will give area sports fans an opportunity to preview the school’s 2010-11 basketball teams Wednesday night with “EMCC Madness” on the Scooba campus. Set to begin at 6 p.m. at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum, admission is free to EMCC’s preseason basketball event.

Along with player introductions for both teams, Wednesday’s preseason hoops preview will also feature a men’s slam dunk contest and three-point shooting competitions by members of both EMCC teams. The night is slated to conclude with an intra-squad scrimmage by the Lions.

Ranked 10^th nationally by The Sporting News’ Preseason 2010-11 College Basketball Yearbook, the EMCC Lions return four players, including three starters, from last year’s 27-7 team that claimed the NJCAA Region 23 championship en route to earning a school-first appearance in the NJCAA Tournament played in Hutchinson, Kan. Guided by 2009-10 NJCAA District 15 Coach of the Year Mark White, the EMCC men also claimed the MACJC North Division regular-season title and finished as runners-up to Pearl River for the state championship a year ago.

Guided by sixth-year head coach Sharon Thompson, the EMCC Lady Lions bring back five players, including three starters, from last year’s 15-13 ballclub that advanced to NJCAA Region 23 Tournament play for the second consecutive season. With a 40-20 combined record over the past two seasons, the East Mississippi women participated in the 2009 NJCAA Tournament on the way to recording a 25-7 overall mark.

The East Mississippi basketball teams will officially tip off the 2010-11 regular season with four straight road doubleheaders before their season home openers on Thursday, Nov. 18. Beginning with Monday’s (Nov. 1) hoops twinbill at Jones County, EMCC will also venture to East Central (Nov. 6), Hinds (Nov. 8) and Meridian (Nov. 11) prior to playing host to East Central on Nov. 18. Tip-off times at EMCC’s Keyes T. Currie Coliseum are set for 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. during home doubleheader dates this season.