EMCC Lions gut out 118-114 triple-overtime road division win over Delta; Lady Lions fall 72-47 to Delta women

MOORHEAD – The visiting Lions of East Mississippi Community College overcame plenty of adversity in knocking off Mississippi Delta Community College, 118-114 in triple overtime, Thursday evening in MACJC North Division basketball action played at J.T. Hall Coliseum.  In the women's contest, the Lady Lions trailed from start to finish in dropping a 72-47 decision to the home-standing Lady Trojans. 

Playing without two of their key players and eventually having three players foul out of the contest during the extra sessions, the Lions came out of the gates red-hot from three-point range.  Knocking down 10 treys through the opening 20 minutes of play, the visitors jumped out to a seemingly comfortable 50-30 first-half lead before settling for a 50-35 advantage at the break. 

Perhaps becoming too reliant on the three-point shot, the Lions saw their double-digit lead gradually dissipate during the course of the second stanza.  Just past the midway point of the second half, Delta's Darius Dukes drained a 3-pointer to give the Trojans their first lead of the game at 67-66.  With Antonio Finley answering with one of his nine made 3-pointers on the night, EMCC reclaimed the advantage for the next few minutes before the two teams exchanged leads down the stretch of regulation.  It was Lion freshman forward Jahyde Gardiner's put-back basket with less than a second remaining that sent the classic game into overtime tied at 88-all. 

Following a low-scoring (6-6) initial extra session, the Lions got down by six points (100-94) with just over a minute left during the second overtime.  As the Trojans misfired on six free throw attempts during the second overtime, EMCC took advantage with some clutch plays.  Chris Rhoney's timely trey inside a minute was followed by a trio of critical charity tosses from Denarrius Gray.  After Tyrone McNeese's 1-of-2 effort from the line knotted the score at 102-all with 3.9 seconds remaining, Daniel Simmons' floater wouldn't fall at the buzzer for the Lions to send the thriller into a third and decisive extra period. 

Unlike the previous two overtimes, the Lions scored first in the final five-minute period on a Gardiner basket.  After the teams traded baskets and exchanged free throws throughout the high-scoring extra session, Rhoney's pair of free throws tied the contest at 114-all with 19.1 seconds left.  Coming out of a timeout, EMCC freshman Jontavius Baker intercepted a backcourt pass and converted the turnover into the would-be winning basket.  Jaylen Ford's subsequent three-point shot attempt rimmed out and was rebounded by Simmons, who promptly sealed the dramatic victory with a pair of free throws with 2.5 ticks left. 

Improving to 15-4 overall and 7-1 within the division, head coach Mark White's EMCC Lions had seven players score in double figures.  Finley, a Meridian High School product, led the way with 29 points, including nine 3-pointers.  Off the bench, Rhoney followed with season-high efforts of 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Gardiner registered his ninth double-double of the campaign with 18 points and 14 boards. 

The Delta men, now 8-10 overall and 4-4 in division play, received a game-high 34 points from Dukes, including seven 3-pointers.  Travon Harper and McNeese followed with 18 and 15 points, respectively, for the Trojans. 

In the women's contest, the Lady Trojans never trailed and mounted a double-digit lead just seven minutes into the game.  The margin stood at 30-19 by the intermission and ballooned to 20 points (39-19) five minutes into the second half following nine unanswered points by the home team coming out of the halftime break. 

The Lady Lions could not mount any type of comeback attempt over the final 20 minutes of play en route to dropping the 25-point road decision.  Head coach Sharon Thompson's EMCC women, now 9-10 overall and 4-4 within the division, were led by freshman guard Annessia Durham with 11 points. 

Improving to 6-12 overall and 3-5 in division play, the Delta women were paced by Niya Head's double-double performance of 21 points and 14 rebounds.   

The East Mississippi basketball teams continue MACJC North Division action Monday evening when the Tigers of Coahoma Community College invade Keyes T. Currie Coliseum for a 5:30/7:30 p.m. doubleheader on the Scooba campus.  EMCC's home hoops twinbill is slated to be video-streamed live on www.EMCCAthletics.com/live.