EMCC Lions to meet Ranger College in Tuesday’s opening round of NJCAA basketball tourney in Kansas

SCOOBA – Returning to the NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship for the fifth time in the last seven years, the Lions of East Mississippi Community College will open tournament play in Hutchinson, Kansas on Tuesday afternoon against Ranger (Texas) College.  Tip-off time is set for noon CT at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

The six-day, single-elimination tournament will begin Monday, while Tuesday's EMCC-Ranger matchup will mark the final of eight opening-round contests.  The entire national tournament will be streamed live on NJCAA TV (www.njcaatv.com).  Additional information, including a complete bracket, tournament results and game statistics, will be available online at www.njcaabbtrny.org.

Earning their first NJCAA tournament appearance since making four straight trips to Kansas from 2010-2013, first-year head coach Billy Begley's 20-8 EMCC Lions gained this year's national tournament berth as the zone qualifier from Region 23/District XV.  East Mississippi dropped a heartbreaking 74-73 decision at the buzzer to fellow NJCAA tourney entry Northeast Mississippi in the championship game of the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament played at Mississippi College in Clinton.

Guided by Billy Gillispie, former coach at Kentucky, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and UTEP, Ranger College made this year's 24-team field as one of four at-large teams.  Making the school's first NJCAA tournament appearance in nearly 50 years, Ranger College earned its at-large invitation after falling to Odessa College, 71-65, in the championship game of the NJCAA Region V Tournament held in Brownwood, Texas.  The Rangers enter the national tourney sporting a 28-5 overall record and were ranked No. 10 nationally in the final regular-season poll.

The winner of Tuesday's first-round game between No. 22 seed EMCC and 11^th-seeded Ranger College will advance to meet sixth-seeded Eastern Florida State College in an 8 p.m. CT second-round contest Wednesday evening.  Ranked fourth in the NJCAA's final regular-season poll, the 27-4 EFSC Titans are coached by Jeremy Shulman, who was an assistant coach at East Mississippi prior to leaving for Eastern Florida.  Shulman preceded Begley as EMCC's assistant men's coach and was on the Lions' staff during their first of four consecutive NJCAA tournament appearances (2010-2013) under the guidance of former EMCC head man and current Tallahassee CC head coach Mark White.  

Having reached the 20-win mark for the sixth time in the last seven years, this year's EMCC squad rebounded from a 0-2 start in MACJC North Division play to finish an even 6-6 in league play and earn the division's No. 4 seed in the MACJC State Tournament.  After claiming an 80-73 quarterfinal-round win over reigning state champion Pearl River, the Lions dropped a 61-59 decision to eventual state champion Southwest Mississippi in the semifinals.  The following week as the No. 7 seed in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament, East Mississippi knocked off No. 2 seed Mississippi Gulf Coast, 89-83, and easily breezed by Southern-Shreveport, 95-60, before most recently losing the one-point heartbreaker at the buzzer to Northeast Mississippi in the region finals.   

Featuring five sophomore starters, including four players averaging in double figures on the year, the EMCC Lions are led in scoring by all-region tournament selection Daniel Simmons (Biggersville), who averages 15.6 points per game and also tops the team with 61 made 3-pointers for the season.  All-Region 23 forward Jahyde Gardiner, a Tennessee-Martin signee, is averaging 14.0 points and a team-best 7.3 rebounds per contest, while Boston College transfer Nat Dixon follows at 12.2 points an outing and has connected on 40 three-point attempts.  West Point's Juan Davis Jr., who joined Simmons on the all-region tourney squad, averages a solid 11.8 points and 6.0 boards per contest in addition to leading the team in field-goal percentage (55.7%) and blocked shots (39).

Meridian's J'Vaughnte Harris dishes out a club-high 3.6 assists from his starting point guard position, while freshmen David McFarland (Raymond HS) and Anterio McKines (Quitman) contribute 6.3 and 5.7 points per game, respectively, off the EMCC bench.