19th-ranked EMCC Lions nipped by Hinds Bulldogs in Utica
The 19th-ranked EMCC Lions saw their three-game win streak halted by dropping a narrow 74-73 road decision to the Hinds Bulldogs during Monday's MACCC men's basketball action played at J.D. Boyd Gym.
UTICA -- The 19th-ranked EMCC Lions saw their three-game win streak halted by dropping a narrow 74-73 road decision to the Hinds Bulldogs during Monday's MACCC men's basketball action played at J.D. Boyd Gym.
The visiting Lions led for the majority of the opening 20 minutes of play. Late in the first half, Brandon Deravine's hook in the lane and subsequent three-point play plus a Blake Butler bucket put EMCC in front, 40-31, with two minutes left until halftime.
Riding the hot hand of sophomore forward Jakorie Smith's 17 first-half points, the Lions owned a 42-36 halftime lead over Hinds.
Following the break, EMCC maintained a solid margin for the opening six minutes of the second stanza. Consecutive made treys by Danny Washington gave the Lions a double-digit (60-50) lead by the 14:26 mark of the half.
Sparked by the red-hot shooting of Jalen Myers, the home-standing Bulldogs responded with 11 unanswered points to take a 61-60 lead midway through the half.
The next six minutes of action saw four more lead changes and a pair of ties before back-to-back three-pointers by Martarious Burrell and Treylan Smith put Hinds on top, 71-67, with three minutes remaining in regulation.
After the teams traded turnovers, a Kyle Hayman dunk for Hinds was answered by Traemond Pittman's drive to the rim and Smith's inside post move to knot the score at 73-73 with 53.8 seconds left. Following a Hinds missed three-point attempt, EMCC's Butler was stripped of the ball by Jamaal Esco on a drive to the basket with six seconds showing on the game clock. Burrell was then fouled on the other end and hit the first of two free throw attempts with two ticks remaining to account for the final score.
In having their three-game win string halted, head coach Billy Begley's EMCC Lions fell to 15-5 overall and 8-3 in conference action. Smith recorded his 19th career double-double by finishing with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Deravine and Butler followed with 17 and 13 points, respectively, for the visitors.
Improving to 7-12 overall and 5-5 in MACCC play, the Hinds men were powered by Myers' game-high 34 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 from the line along with a dozen rebounds. Hayman followed with 15 points for the Bulldogs.
The East Mississippi basketball teams will continue MACCC play by taking on the Indians of Itawamba Community College during Thursday's (Feb. 10) conference hoops action. The EMCC-ICC men's contest will tip off at 6 p.m. at Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus, while the women's game will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Davis Event Center in Fulton.