EMCC women win big over Wallace-Selma; Lions fall just short in men’s nightcap

SCOOBA – East Mississippi Community College split a home basketball doubleheader with Wallace Community College Selma in contrasting fashion Monday night at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus.  The EMCC women breezed to their third straight win with a convincing 79-47 victory, while the Lions took the visiting Patriots to the wire before dropping an 82-81 decision in the nightcap.

With a 3-0 women's record and 2-1 men's mark, the EMCC basketball teams now travel Thursday to Decatur to meet the Warriors of East Central Community College.  A 5:30 p.m. women's game will be followed by a 7:30 p.m. men's contest at ECCC's Brackeen-Wood Gymnasium.  

In Monday's women's game, the Lions jumped out to a 23-10 lead by the end of the first quarter en route to owning a 43-19 halftime advantage over Wallace-Selma.  EMCC's tandem of sophomore Quantesha Patterson and freshman Tyeisha Juhan combined for 27 first-half points between them to help establish control of the contest.

Shooting 51 percent (29-57 FGs) from the field as a team with 19 assists to their credit for the game, EMCC's dominance continued throughout the second half.  The margin grew to 30 points (53-23) by the 7:35 mark of the third quarter.  A period later, the Lions were still doubling-up Wallace-Selma by holding a 72-36 advantage with 7:29 still remaining in the contest.

Patterson, from East Webster High School, finished the contest by registering her 15^th career double-double with a season-high 24 points (9-13 FGs) and 10 rebounds.  Following with 21 points in the contest, Juhan reached the 20-point mark for the third straight game to begin her collegiate career.  The Jonesboro, Georgia native also added five rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Falling to 0-3 on the year, the Lady Patriots were led by Jalisa Torrance and Kierra Davis with 11 points apiece.

In stark contrast to the women's meeting, the men's contest was a hardwood battle from the opening tip-off to the final buzzer.  Following a 16-16 tie midway through the opening half, Wallace-Selma pulled ahead by six points three times before EMCC was able to cut the deficit to a basket (37-35) by halftime.

Early in the second half, back-to-back 3-pointers by Lion sophomores Anterio McKines and Josh Skinner knotted the score at 43-all.  A 7-0 Patriot spurt was promptly answered by a 6-0 EMCC run that made it a one-point contest (50-49) with 13 minutes remaining in regulation.

Relegated to the bench after being whistled for two first-half fouls, Wallace-Selma's Gene Davis sparked the Patriots on an 11-2 run that gave the visitors a 10-point advantage (61-51) midway through the second half.  The Lions spent the next seven minutes on the game clock cutting into the deficit.  They managed to pull to within three points (69-66) with 2:49 left on a Job Vernor 3-pointer from the corner and a subsequent basket by Charleston Southern transfer Melvin Brooks III.

Things really became interesting during the final minute of play.  After the Patriots beat the EMCC backcourt press on a couple of occasions down the stretch, the visitors still maintained a six-point lead (80-74) with 27 seconds left following a pair of free throws by Jaylan Richardson.  The Lions then made one last valiant effort to attempt to complete the comeback with a David McFarland dunk followed by another Vernor 3-pointer after the Center Hill High School product intercepted the inbounds pass.  In the blink of an eye, EMCC was within a single point (80-79) with a chance to pull out an improbable victory or at least send the game into overtime.

However, Davis capped his 23-point night by hitting two clutch free throws with 10.3 seconds left to make it a three-point contest.  On the game's final possession, McFarland launched a forced three-point attempt that he rebounded and quickly converted for a put-back basket.  Against EMCC's pressure defense, the Patriots were able to get the ball inbounds and run out the remaining few seconds.    

McFarland, out of Raymond High School, finished with a career-high 30 points and added 10 rebounds to record his second double-double of the young season.  Starkville's Keith Harris followed with 18 points off the EMCC bench, while Vernor also reached double figures with 10 points.

The 3-0 Patriots of Wallace-Selma also received 18 points from Zavieun Jackson along with Richardson's 15 points.