Nick Walker’s double-double leads Lions over Coahoma, 75-55

SCOOBA — The Lions of East Mississippi Community College scored the game's first seven points on the way to posting a 77-55 home win over Coahoma during Thursday's MACCC North Division men's basketball action played at EMCC's Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.  In women's play contested at the Pinnacle, the EMCC Lady Lions dropped a 51-38 road decision to the Lady Tigers.

In the men's contest, the home-standing Lions raced out to a 21-6 lead before Coahoma scored nine unanswered points – six by Jacob Profit IV - to cut the deficit to six points.  With EMCC freshman Nick Walker well on his way to recording his fourth double-double of the season with 10 first-half points and nine rebounds through the game's first 20 minutes, the Lions held a 36-29 halftime advantage.

Three minutes into the second stanza, the Lions began to take control of the contest with another 7-0 spurt that gave them a double-digit lead (48-36) they would not relinquish over the game's final 12 minutes.

As a team, the EMCC men shot 44 percent (26-59 FGs) from the field, though 17 of those misses came from three-point range.  The Lions also connected on 20-of-23 free throws (87%) for the game.

Walker, out of Hattiesburg, was a dominant force inside for the Lions by hitting 8-of-9 shots and 5-of-6 free throws for a team-high 21 points to go along with his season-most 16 rebounds.  Reigning all-conference forward Jakorie Smith added 15 points and seven rebounds, while Traemond Pittman and Hunter McCutcheon added 12 and 10 points, respectively, for the winners.

Profit earned game-scoring honors with 26 points for the visiting Coahoma Tigers.

Coach Billy Begley's 8-4 EMCC Lions (6-3 in MACCC North) will be away from home during the coming week with road contests against Holmes and Northwest Mississippi on Monday and Wednesday, respectively.

During women's action played in Clarksdale, the Lady Lions jumped out to a 14-3 lead before Coahoma went on a 12-2 run to cut the deficit to a point (16-15) by the end of the opening quarter.

Following a 25-25 halftime deadlock, the Lady Tigers outscored EMCC, 14-3, in the third quarter to mount a double-digit advantage heading into the final period.  The Lady Lions cut into a 13-point deficit by scoring five unanswered points midway through the fourth quarter but couldn't get any closer than eight points the rest of the night.  Coahoma finished off the contest at the charity stripe to secure its fifth consecutive win since dropping a 65-45 decision at EMCC back on Feb. 4.

Reigning all-conference performer Ja'Mia Hollings registered her 18^th career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds for the visiting Lady Lions.             

Coahoma's Jurnee McLaurin led all scorers with 21 points, while Mary Wilkins added 11 points.

Coach Sharon Thompson's 4-3 EMCC Lady Lions travel to Booneville to meet Northeast Mississippi in a 2 p.m. Saturday contest at Bonner Arnold Coliseum before playing host to the Holmes Lady Bulldogs Monday night (March 8) on the Scooba campus.  Monday's tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at EMCC's Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.