EMCC turns attention to "Sophomore Night" against Northwest after getting swept at Holmes
The East Mississippi Community College basketball teams were looking to gain some momentum heading into next week's MACJC State Basketball Tournament but instead came away from Frank Branch Coliseum with a pair of road setbacks to Holmes Community College Monday evening. The visitors fell, 83-69, in women’s action and then dropped a 72-61 decision to the Bulldogs in the men’s nightcap.
GOODMAN – The East Mississippi Community College basketball teams were looking to gain some momentum heading into next week's MACJC State Basketball Tournament but instead came away from Frank Branch Coliseum with a pair of road setbacks to Holmes Community College Monday evening. The visitors fell, 83-69, in women's action and then dropped a 72-61 decision to the Bulldogs in the men's nightcap.
With both EMCC teams assured of spots in next week's (Feb. 22-25) Itawamba-hosted state tournament in Fulton, the Lions (17-5, 6-5) and Lady Lions (13-7, 7-4) will again look to improve their tournament seeding by playing host to Northwest Mississippi Thursday evening during "Sophomore Night" festivities on the Scooba campus. A 5:30 women's game will be followed by a 7:30 p.m. men's contest at EMCC's Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.
In women's action Monday on the Holmes campus, the Lady Bulldogs scored 11 of the last 14 points in the first quarter to turn a 10-10 tie into a 21-13 lead heading into the second quarter. Sparked by a Camry Jones 3-pointer, the visitors went on a 13-3 run late in the second half to take a brief one-point lead (36-35) before Holmes' Minyone Hill hit a basket just prior to the halftime buzzer.
Holmes then scored the first nine points coming out of the break to reclaim control of the contest. With a 62-50 lead heading into the final period, the Lady Bulldogs maintained their double-digit advantage throughout the fourth quarter. After building as much as an 18-point cushion (79-61) down the stretch, the home team settled for the 14-point outcome to improve to 16-6 overall and 7-4 within the MACJC's North Division.
The winners were led by Hill and Tiffany Jones with 20 and 19 points, respectively. Hill added 10 assists while Jones also recorded a double-double with 10 rebounds.
Falling to 13-7 overall and 7-4 in division play with their fifth loss in the last six outings, head coach Sharon Thompson's EMCC Lady Lions were paced by Columbus product Ki-Ki Patterson's game-high 22 points. Former East Webster standout Quantesha Patterson followed with 15 points and eight rebounds.
In the men's nightcap, the home-standing Bulldogs rallied from an early deficit to take a 36-25 halftime advantage after making a 20-6 run to close out the opening 20 minutes of play.
On the heels of last Thursday's dramatic, come-from-behind home win over Itawamba, the Lions came out strong following the intermission by scoring 11 unanswered points to start the second half and knot the score at 36-all. Led by reigning NJCAA All-American Daryl Macon, who scored nine straight points for Holmes, the Bulldogs re-established momentum by opening up a double-digit lead midway through the second stanza.
Fighting back from a 14-point deficit with 3:36 remaining, the Lions managed to trim the margin to seven points (68-61) late in the contest. While running clock to preserve the lead, Holmes calmly converted four straight free throws over the final minute to seal the 11-point victory and improve to 17-5 overall while staying atop the MACJC North Division standings with an 8-3 mark.
Macon, an Arkansas signee, tallied a game-high 24 points for the Bulldogs, while D'Angelo Richardson followed with 19.
Dropping to 17-5 overall and 6-5 within the division while having their four-game winning streak halted, head coach Billy Begley's EMCC Lions were led by Daniel Simmons with 21 points, including 14 after the break. Nat Dixon and David McFarland added 12 and 10 points, respectively.