Blake Butler’s 45-point explosion powers EMCC Lions to 104-75 road win over Northwest

SENATOBIA – Blake Butler's 45-point explosion powered the unbeaten East Mississippi Community College men's basketball team to a dominant 104-75 road victory over Northwest Mississippi during Monday night's action played at Howard Coliseum.

Butler, a reigning All-MACCC First Team and NJCAA All-Region 23 selection for the Lions, hit 18-of-30 shots from the field against the Rangers, including 7-of-16 from three-point range, and 2-of-3 from the charity stripe to virtually single-handedly lift the EMCC Lions to their fifth consecutive win to open the season. Coach Billy Begley's defending MACCC Tournament champions previously followed a season-opening 87-65 home win over Shelton State (Nov. 1) with three wins in as many days (Nov. 4-6) – over Oakland CC (87-57), Lincoln Trail College (71-65) and Miami Dade College (79-65) – at the Griffin Elite 2022 Prep/JUCO Classic played in Erlanger, Kentucky.

In EMCC's first game of the new season against an MACCC opponent, though not counting as a conference contest, Monday's meeting with Northwest was tied at 24-24 before Butler began to take over the game. With the Lions leading, 29-25, the Louisville, Kentucky native scored 13 points over the final five minutes of the opening half, including hitting five straight shots. His 21 first-half points helped stake the visitors to a 48-38 halftime advantage.

The Lions maintained their double-digit lead throughout the second stanza. The margin increased to 26 points (80-54) after EMCC went on a 22-7 run, including 11 points from fellow Kentucky product Andrew Mason, to break open the contest. The freshman guard finished with 16 points off the EMCC bench.

Forward DJ Avery, the third member of EMCC's trio from the Bluegrass State, also scored in double digits with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including three treys in four attempts.

The Northwest Rangers were led by Joseph Cooper's 18 points and 10 assists, while Darren Davis added 11 points.

The 104-point effort marked the most points scored by the Lions since a 105-40 win over Royal Ambassadors Prep during the 2019-20 season. It was also their first 100-point outing against a conference opponent since posting a 102-89 regular-season home victory over Northwest during EMCC's 2018-19 conference tournament championship season.

The 5-0 EMCC Lions will take on the Meridian CC Eagles on the road Thursday evening. Tipoff for the non-conference contest at MCC's Graham Gymnasium is set for 6 p.m. in Meridian.

Coming off last week's 46-43 home win over Coahoma, first-year head coach Isaiah Butler's 1-1 EMCC Lady Lions will also play on the road Thursday by traveling to Decatur to meet the Lady Warriors of East Central in a non-conference matchup.