EMCC Lions move to 5-0 with 81-34 home win over Spring Hill JV; Lady Lions fall 74-73 in OT to Lawson State

SCOOBA – The Lions of East Mississippi Community College stayed unbeaten on the hardwood with a resounding 81-34 home triumph over Spring Hill College's junior varsity team Monday evening at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.  The EMCC Lady Lions didn't fare as well in dropping a 74-73 overtime decision to Lawson State Community College to begin the evening.

Coach Billy Begley's 5-0 EMCC Lions scored the game's first 14 points and owned a 20-point lead five minutes into the contest.  After maintaining a 47-23 halftime cushion, East Mississippi held the visiting Badgers to just 11 second-half points en route to registering the decisive 47-point victory.

With their starters sitting out the second half, the Lions put 11 of 12 players in the scoring column during the nightcap.  Off the EMCC bench, Montrael Nabors led the way with a dozen points on 5-of-8 shooting for the home team, followed by Ecurb Forest and David McFarland with 10 points apiece.  Sophomore Juan Davis Jr. topped the Lion starters with nine points on 4-of-4 shooting, while four other players added eight points apiece to the winning effort.  

Spring Hill's JV squad was paced by Justen Mascaro and Nicholas Guidry with nine points each.

In the women's contest, the Lady Lions owned a 17-14 lead after the first quarter but were outscored, 17-9, by the Lady Cougars in the second quarter to enter intermission trailing 31-26.

With sophomore Ki-Ki Patterson heating up from outside with a trio of third-quarter 3-pointers, the EMCC women used a 27-13 differential in the period to enter the final quarter with a 53-44 advantage.  The former prep All-American from Columbus High School scored 13 of her 16 points on the night in the third quarter.

Lawson State battled throughout the final quarter to gradually cut into the lead and managed to knot the contest at 61-all on a Ki-yana Bullock bucket with 2:15 left in regulation.  After the visitors again tied the score at 64-all with 4.7 ticks remaining on a pair of free throws by Aja Cumbie, EMCC freshman Quantesha Patterson missed a contested shot attempt from close range at the end of regulation.

The Lady Lions scored the first four points in overtime and held the advantage for the early portion of the extra session.  LSCC later took a brief 71-70 lead on a Tila-Monet Green basket, but EMCC sophomore Camry Jones answered with a clutch 3-pointer to give the home team a 73-71 advantage with a minute remaining.

Cumbie then pulled the Lady Cougars to within a point by converting 1-of-2 free throws with 43.8 seconds left.  Quantesha Patterson's rebound of a missed Lawson State offensive put-back attempt sent the reigning MACJC Player of the Week to the line.  However, she misfired on both charity tosses to keep it a one-point contest with 27.2 seconds on the game clock.

That's when Alexis Lang came up big for the visitors on both sides of the floor.  The sophomore from Nashville first drove the baseline to convert a tough shot under the basket and give Lawson State the lead with just 3.8 ticks left.  Lang then blocked Jones' baseline jumper in front of the EMCC bench to preserve the victory for the Lady Cougars.

With their first setback in four decisions on the year, head coach Sharon Thompson's EMCC women were led by Quantesha Patterson's second double-double of the young season.  The former East Webster High School standout matched her NJCAA-leading scoring average with 28 points (10-19 FGs & 8-11 FTs) and collected a season-high 15 rebounds in addition to her four steals and three blocks.  Jones also enjoyed a well-rounded effort for the Lady Lions with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting to go along with her eight rebounds, three assists and three blocks.  

The 5-2 Lawson State women were led by Cumbie and Lang with 20 and 17 points, respectively, while Bullock added 14 points for the winners.

The East Mississippi basketball teams resume MACJC action Thursday in Poplarville by taking on Pearl River in a men's/women's doubleheader set to begin at 5:30 p.m. at PRCC's Marvin R. White Coliseum.  Both games are slated to be live-streamed and available online at www.EMCCAthletics.com/live with EMCC Director of Digital Media Matt Pellegrin set to describe the play-by-play action.