EMCC Lions use dominant second half to pull away, 66-55, at Northwest

SENATOBIA — The Lions of East Mississippi Community College outscored Northwest Mississippi, 40-23, in the second half to pull away with a 66-55 road victory over the Rangers during Wednesday's MACCC North Division men's basketball action played at Howard Coliseum.

After getting down by nine points (13-4) four minutes into the contest, the Lions used a 15-4 run to temporarily take a 19-17 lead with 8:06 left in the half on a Hunter McCutcheon layup that came moments after the freshman guard's three-pointer knotted the score.

The home-standing Rangers responded by outscoring the visitors, 15-7, for the remainder of the opening half to take a 32-26 advantage into the halftime break.  Both teams shot 39 percent from the field during the opening 20 minutes of play.

That would all change, however, during the second stanza when the Lions caught fire from the floor and locked down on defense. 

While still trailing by six points (41-35) with 15:29 left following Deantoni Gordon's basket, EMCC scored eight unanswered points over the next minute-plus on a pair of McCutcheon treys that sandwiched a Nick Walker bucket.

Midway through the half, the Lions created some separation by going on another 8-0 run that lengthened their lead to 53-44 with 8:43 remaining in the contest.  Another McCutcheon three-pointer capped the game-deciding stretch that also included Traemond Pittman's three-point play and a Blake Butler bucket.

With its lead reaching double digits (57-46) on a Jakorie Smith basket at the 7:06 mark, EMCC's advantage stayed at eight points or better the rest of the way en route to the 11-point triumph and a regular-season sweep of the Rangers.

During the second half of play, the Lions made twice as many field goals as the Rangers (14-7) while both teams attempted the same number of shots (25).  Along with out-shooting Northwest (56%-28%) following the halftime break and holding the Rangers to 35 percent shooting for the game, EMCC owned a decisive 45-30 rebounding advantage in the contest.

East Mississippi's quartet of double-digit scorers was paced by McCutcheon's 14 points.  Smith followed with 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds, while Walker and Arecko Gipson Jr. added 11 points apiece for the winners.

Gordon led all scorers with 17 points and James Richards III added a dozen points for Northwest.

Currently riding a three-game win streak, Coach Billy Begley's 10-4 EMCC Lions (8-3 in division play) are scheduled to play host to the Trojans of Mississippi Delta on Monday (March 15) on the Scooba campus.  Tip-off for Monday's EMCC-Delta men's contest is set for 6 p.m. at EMCC's Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.