EMCC women prevail 61-50 at Holmes; Lions fall 72-68 to Bulldogs in men’s nightcap

GOODMAN – The East Mississippi Community College women's basketball team never trailed home-standing Holmes Community College in earning a 61-50 road win during Monday's MACJC North Division hoops action, while the EMCC men dropped a 72-68 nightcap decision to the Bulldogs at Frank Branch Coliseum.

Leading from the opening tipoff to the final buzzer, the EMCC women jumped out to an early 10-point lead (16-6) during the first quarter.  The Lions maintained their double-digit cushion by holding a 31-21 halftime advantage.

The Lady Bulldogs got back into the contest by scoring the first six points of the second stanza to cut their deficit to four points.  But, that's as close as Holmes would get the remainder of the contest, as the home team struggled with 30-percent shooting for the game, including just 4-of-21 (19%) from beyond the three-point arc.

After Holmes again cut into EMCC's lead early in the fourth quarter, the visitors scored six unanswered points midway through the period to push the margin back to twin digits.  The Lions' 11-point road triumph moved Coach Sharon Thompson's squad to 10-5 overall and 5-1 in division play.

Freshman guard Tyeisha Juhan again led the EMCC women with a game-high 21 points.  Reigning all-region performer Quantesha Patterson recorded her 10^th double-double of the season and 23^rd of her collegiate career with 16 points and 11 rebounds.  Fellow sophomore Anissia May chipped in with 16 points and six rebounds.

Falling to 6-9 overall on the year and 2-4 within the division, the Lady Bulldogs were led by Kamelia Lacy and Nhamia Wilson with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

In the men's nightcap, the Lions' red-hot shooting from the perimeter gave the visitors a quick 12-4 lead six minutes into the contest.  Midway through the opening half, consecutive 3-pointers by sophomore guard Anterio McKines then put EMCC on top by 11 points (22-11) with 8:38 left until halftime.

From that point until the break, the momentum turned in favor of the home team as the Bulldogs outscored the visitors, 23-9, heading into intermission.  Back-to-back 3-pointers by Trevais Spencer gave Holmes a 34-31 halftime advantage.

Holmes increased its lead to 11 points (52-41) early in the third quarter before the Lions went on a 14-3 run to knot the score at 55-55 following a David McFarland trey with 8:48 remaining.

The divisional battle became a back-and-forth affair at that point, as the lead changed hands eight times over the next six minutes.  While scoring their final dozen points from the charity stripe, the Bulldogs maintained their narrow lead late in the game by converting 12-of-14 free throws down the stretch.

The Lions, now 6-9 overall and 2-4 in division play, had their chances at the end, but McFarland's long three-point attempt misfired and a subsequent turnover at midcourt during the waning seconds sealed the visitors' fate.

McFarland paced a quartet of EMCC double-digit scorers with 18 points.  Freshman Ill'yan Scott came off the bench to connect on all six of his shot attempts on his way to a season-high 14 points.  McKines and Mitch Storm followed with 11 points each.

Improving to 10-7 overall and 4-2 within the division, the Holmes men were led by Spencer's game-high 19 points and 12 rebounds.  Justin Johnson and Mikkel Norment added 17 and 14 points, respectively, for the winners.

The East Mississippi basketball teams will tip off the second half of the MACJC North Division regular-season slate by traveling to Northwest Mississippi Community College for a Thursday twin bill against the Rangers.  Both games of the 5/7 p.m. doubleheader in Senatobia are slated to be live-streamed at www.EMCCAthletics.com/live.  EMCC swept Northwest in Scooba to begin division play, Dec. 6, with a 72-53 women's win followed by an 88-80 men's victory.