State champion EMCC Lions to meet Holmes in NJCAA Region 23 Basketball Tournament in Clinton

SCOOBA – Riding the momentum of claiming the school's first MACJC state championship in men's basketball since the 1930s, the Lions of East Mississippi Community College will begin play at this week's NJCAA Region 23 Basketball Tournament in Clinton by taking on the reigning regional champion Holmes Bulldogs during Wednesday's quarterfinals.  Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. at A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus.

With women's quarterfinal-round tournament action set for Tuesday in Clinton, Wednesday's men's quarterfinals will begin with a 1 p.m. contest between sixth-seeded Mississippi Gulf Coast and third-seeded Southern University-Shreveport out of Louisiana.  The winner will advance to take on the EMCC-Holmes winner Thursday at 5 p.m. in the men's semifinals.

The other side of the men's regional bracket will pit fourth-seeded Pearl River against fifth-seeded Northeast Mississippi in Wednesday's 5 p.m. quarterfinals, followed by top-seeded Jones versus eighth-seeded East Central at 7 p.m.  Those winners will advance to face each other in Thursday's 7 p.m. semifinals.  The men's regional championship contest is set for Friday at 7 p.m. and will follow the 5 p.m. women's title tilt.      

As men's regular-season champions of the MACJC's North Division for the first time since the 2012-13 season, Coach Billy Begley's EMCC Lions advanced through last week's MACJC State Basketball Tournament in Ellisville by knocking off East Central (70-53), 15^th-ranked Pearl River (62-57) and host Jones (61-58) on consecutive days.  Defense was the key for the EMCC men during last week's successful run through the state tournament, as the Lions held all three opponents under 40 percent field goal shooting and below the 60-point mark.  Collectively, the Lions limited ECCC, PRCC and JC to just 34.1 percent (59-173 FGs) shooting from the field, including only 24.3 percent (18-74 treys) from beyond the three-point arc.  The Lions ramped up their defensive efforts against the MACJC South Division's top two teams by holding Pearl River to 31.5 percent (17-54 FGs) shooting, including 2-of-21 (10%) 3-pointers, in the semis and then limiting Jones to 31.8 percent (21-66 FGs) from the field and 24.2 percent (8-33 treys) from the arc in the finals.

Looking for their first 20-win season since last qualifying for the Region 23 tournament during the 2015-16 campaign (Begley's first year as EMCC's head coach), the 19-7 and second-seeded EMCC Lions bring a nine-game winning streak that dates back to the end of January into this week's regional tournament.  They have also won 12 of their last 13 decisions dating back to Jan. 14 with the only setback during that stretch coming at home to Northeast Mississippi, 68-65, on Jan. 28.

Guided by Jason Flanigan, the Holmes Bulldogs enter regional play as the tournament's No. 7 seed with a 15-9 overall record after dropping a 60-48 decision to Pearl River during last Tuesday's state tournament quarterfinals in Ellisville.  Holmes finished third in the MACJC North Division's regular-season standings with a 7-5 division mark.             

EMCC and Holmes split the regular-season series by winning on their respective home floors.  On Jan. 10 in Goodman, Czar Perry's 37 points lifted the Bulldogs to a narrow 75-74 home victory over the Lions.  During last month's rematch (Feb. 4) in Scooba, EMCC snapped a nine-game series losing skid against Holmes that had dated back to the 2013-14 season with a 70-59 triumph.  Along with claiming last year's NJCAA Region 23 men's tournament title and participating in the 2018 NJCAA tournament, the Bulldogs also previously won the region and advanced to the national tournament during the 2014-15 season.

This week's postseason action in Clinton will mark East Mississippi's ninth men's appearance in the NJCAA Region 23 Basketball Tournament in the last 11 years dating back to the 2008-09 season.  During that span, the Lions claimed four consecutive regional tournament championships (2010-13) en route to making four straight trips to Hutchinson, Kansas for the NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship under the guidance of former head coach Mark White.  Begley previously served as White's assistant coach during the 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons before coming back to the Scooba campus in 2015 as the Lions' head coach.  EMCC's other four recent regional tournament appearances have resulted in a runner-up finish and subsequent NJCAA tournament berth during Begley's first season (2015-16) as head coach as well as semifinal-round showings in 2009, 2014 and 2015.  Overall during that eight-year stretch from 2009-2016, the Lions posted an impressive 17-4 composite record (.810) during regional tournament play.

East Mississippi's regional tournament action this week in Clinton will be live streamed at www.EMCCAthletics.com/live with Austin Buchanan set to call all of the play-by-play action.

The men's winner of this year's NJCAA Region 23 Basketball Tournament in Clinton will qualify to participate in the 72^nd NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship to be held, March 18-23, at the Hutchinson Sports Arena in Kansas.  The EMCC Lions previously participated in five men's basketball national tournaments (2010-13 & 2016) during a seven-year span.  

2019 NJCAA Region 23 Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket