EMCC Lions explode for 18 first-half 3-pointers en route to 118-60 thrashing of William Carey College's JV team
Scorching the nets for 18 first-half 3-pointers, the Lions of East Mississippi Community College built a 40-point advantage prior to halftime on the way to routing William Carey College's junior varsity team 118-60 Monday night at EMCC's Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.
SCOOBA – Scorching the nets for 18 first-half 3-pointers, the Lions of East Mississippi Community College built a 40-point advantage prior to halftime on the way to routing William Carey College's junior varsity team 118-60 Monday night at EMCC's Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.
Freshman guard Antonio Finley got things clicking from long distance with three consecutive treys from the right corner for the Lions' first nine points of the game. The former Meridian High School product then dialed up two more 3-pointers before the midway point of the opening period. That's when other EMCC sharp-shooters began to join in on the Scooba shootout.
Back-to-back triples by Brandon Moss and Jacolby Mobley extended the margin to 20 points (32-12) by the 10:21 mark. After missing four of his first five three-point attempts, Avery Woodson then caught fire with four consecutive three-point bombs. Mobley subsequently capped a 16-0 EMCC run by converting a four-point play to lengthen the lead to 33 points (50-17) with 6:27 still left in the opening half of play.
By the time the dust had settled following the Lions' explosive three-point barrage, the home team owned a 72-35 halftime advantage on the strength of 18-of-31 (58%) marksmanship from beyond the three-point arc. Individually, Finley drilled 8-of-12 treys in the half to Woodson's 6-of-13 three-point shooting, as the tandem combined for 42 first-half points on 14-of-25 (56%) long-range accuracy between them.
Though EMCC's red-hot shooting collectively cooled off following the break, the Lions still managed to increase the advantage to 50 points (87-37) four minutes into the second stanza. Later in the half, a 17-0 spurt, which included five slam dunks, widened the gap to 66 points (106-40) by the 9:35 mark. The game's biggest scoring margin of 68 points (116-48) occurred five minutes later following a pair of Mobley free throws.
Finishing the contest with 20 made 3-pointers on 46 attempts as a team, head coach Mark White's EMCC Lions improved to 13-4 overall with their fourth straight victory. Finley, Woodson and Mobley all topped the 20-point mark with 26, 23 and 21 points, respectively. Moss and Justin Kinsey added 11 points each, while Mack Foster approached triple-double numbers with 10 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the winners.
The visiting Crusaders from William Carey College's JV team were led by Trevon Cole and LaBaron McMillian with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
With both East Mississippi basketball teams challenging for regular-season division titles, the Lions (13-4, 4-2) and Lady Lions (11-7, 6-1) resume MACJC North Division play with a Thursday doubleheader against the Trojans of Mississippi Delta Community College on the Scooba campus. A 5:30 p.m. women's game will be followed by a 7:30 p.m. men's contest at EMCC's Currie Coliseum.