East Mississippi completes season sweep of Meridian with 81-70 women's win and 87-73 men's victory in Scooba

SCOOBA – The East Mississippi Community College basketball teams completed their season sweep of nearby rival Meridian Community College with a pair of double-digit home wins Thursday night at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.  The Lady Lions began the evening with an 81-70 victory, while the Lions improved to 10-1 on the year with an 87-73 triumph to complete the sweep. 

Earlier this season in Meridian, East Mississippi prevailed 68-52 in the women's contest and then 67-53 in the men's nightcap.  

Bouncing back from Tuesday's setback at fellow rival East Central, the EMCC women initially broke open a tightly contested battle against the Lady Eagles with a 16-3 run to begin the second quarter.  The visitors fought back to cut the deficit to five points (41-36) late in the quarter before the Lady Lions scored the final two baskets of the half to lead by nine points at the break. 

After EMCC held a double-digit advantage the entire third quarter, the Lady Eagles made one more significant comeback attempt that bridged the final two quarters.  Meridian scored the final five points of the third quarter and followed with the first eight points of the final period to trim an 18-point EMCC lead (65-47) to just five points (65-60) again. 

The Lady Lions responded with an 8-3 run, capped by a Ki-Ki Patterson 3-pointer, to push the margin back up to double figures midway through the fourth quarter.  Meridian would get as close as seven points three times the rest of the way, but EMCC tallied the game's final four points to account for the 11-point outcome. 

Improving to 7-2 on the year, head coach Sharon Thompson's EMCC Lady Lions had four players score in double figures.  Kennesaw State transfer point guard Tianna Germain doubled her previous season scoring high of 11 points set earlier in the week by pumping in a game-high 22 points, including 13 in the first half on 6-of-6 shooting from the field.  Freshman Quantesha Patterson registered her fifth double-double of the year with 18 points and 10 rebounds.  Columbus High School product Ki-Ki Patterson also tallied 18 points in the victory. 

Falling to 1-10 for the season, the Meridian women put five players in double digits with Roshonae Rice and Kashari Gordon leading the way with 14 and 13 points, respectively. 

In the nightcap, the two teams battled through five lead changes and four ties before the home-standing Lions scored the final five points of the opening half to hold a narrow 33-28 halftime lead. 

The second half proved just as competitive until around the midway point when EMCC scored seven unanswered points to turn a five-point game into a 66-54 advantage with seven minutes remaining.  The Lions maintained their double-digit lead the rest of the way to record their 13th series win in the last 14 hardwood meetings against Meridian dating back to the 2009-10 campaign.  Nine of EMCC's 10 victories on the season have now come by double figures. 

Coach Billy Begley's EMCC Lions were led by a pair of 20-point scorers in Boston College transfer Nat Dixon and sophomore Daniel Simmons.  Jahyde Gardiner, a UT Martin signee, recorded his 13^th career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while West Point's Juan Davis Jr. added a career-high 15 points in the winning effort. 

Dropping to 4-7 on the year, the Meridian men were paced by Ken'Darrius Hamilton and Devin Paicley-Smith with 19 and 16 points, respectively. 

The East Mississippi basketball teams resume MACJC North Division play next week by traveling to Mississippi Delta for a Monday doubleheader in Moorhead and returning home for a Thursday twin-bill against Coahoma at Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus.