Early three-point success sparks Lions to 70-64 win at Northwest in MACCC opener
The visiting EMCC Lions successfully opened conference play with a 70-64 road victory over Northwest Mississippi during Thursday's MACCC men's hoops action played at Howard Coliseum.
SENATOBIA — The visiting EMCC Lions successfully opened conference play with a 70-64 road victory over Northwest Mississippi during Thursday's MACCC men's hoops action played at Howard Coliseum.
EMCC gained early control of the contest with the three-point ball. After trailing early in the game, the Lions drilled four treys during a two-minute stretch to help them gain a 17-12 lead by the 15:01 mark.
With the visitors still clinging to a slim 22-20 lead, Blake Butler then nailed a trio of three-pointers to extend EMCC's advantage to 31-20 midway through the first half. The margin increased to 13 points (40-27) with four minutes left on a Traemond Pittman three-point play following a steal.
On the strength of eight made treys through the opening 20 minutes of play, the Lions maintained a 46-37 halftime advantage.
The Rangers made a couple of runs during the second stanza to keep themselves within striking distance. Two minutes into the half, Kavonte Tunstall's basket trimmed EMCC's lead to 48-43. The visitors responded with buckets by Kevin Henry, Nick Walker and Brandon Deravine to bump the margin back up to double digits (54-43) with 14:30 remaining in the conference opener for both teams.
After Walker's pair of free throws at the 5:30 mark made it a 64-51 contest, Northwest battled back again to cut the deficit to four points (64-60) with 3:42 left by scoring nine unanswered points. The Lions regrouped following a timeout by getting baskets from Danny Washington and Butler to push their lead back up to eight points (68-60), where the score stood until the final 20 seconds of the contest.
EMCC's balanced scoring attack was led by Jakorie Smith's 14 points. Highlighted by his game-changing, three-point shooting display in the opening half, Butler registered his first collegiate double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Washington added 13 points, while Walker and Pittman contributed nine points apiece to the winning effort. Walker also grabbed 11 rebounds to narrowly miss a double-double.
Isaiah Gaines topped all scorers with 20 points along with pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds, while Joseph Cooper followed with 19 points for the home-standing Rangers.
East Mississippi's basketball teams will continue MACCC action by taking on Southwest Mississippi Monday evening (Dec. 6) on the respective campuses. Men's head coach Billy Begley's 6-2 EMCC Lions will play host to the SMCC Bears at Currie Coliseum in Scooba, while women's head coach Sharon Thompson's 4-4 EMCC Lady Lions will travel to Summit to meet the Lady Bears of Southwest. Both games Monday are slated for 6 p.m. tip-offs.