Unbeaten EMCC Lions win eighth straight with 84-74 road victory over Hinds
The Lions of East Mississippi Community College claimed their eighth straight victory to open the season by posting an 84-74 road win over Hinds during Monday’s non-conference men’s basketball action played at J.D. Boyd Gym.
UTICA – The Lions of East Mississippi Community College claimed their eighth straight victory to open the season by posting an 84-74 road win over Hinds during Monday's non-conference men's basketball action played at J.D. Boyd Gym.
After trailing 4-0 early in the contest, EMCC responded with 10 unanswered points to take a 10-4 lead six minutes into the game. The Bulldogs later reeled off seven straight points to knot the game at 17-17 midway through the half, before EMCC freshman guard Andrew Mason sparked a 6-0 run with a pair of baskets to give the visitors a lead they would not again relinquish the rest of the game.
A Rylen Walker three-pointer with 5:27 left in the opening half cut Hinds' deficit to four points at 28-24, but that was as close as the Bulldogs would get the rest of the evening. EMCC answered with an 8-0 spurt that helped lead to a 41-30 halftime advantage.
The Lions continued to maintain control of the contest for the remaining 20 minutes of play, though Hinds managed to trim the margin to single digits on a handful of occasions during the second stanza. The closest the Bulldogs would get after intermission would be seven points a couple of times within the first six minutes of the half.
A pair of Ashten Michael treys and a shot clock buzzer-beating triple by Mason down the stretch helped extend EMCC's cushion to 15 points (75-60). Four straight made free throws following a technical foul then gave the Lions their largest lead at 79-62.
With their seventh win by double digits through the season's first eight games, the Lions were led by Blake Butler's game-high 25 points. DJ Avery registered his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Kevin Henry was also in double figures with 11 points for the winners.
Hinds was paced by Patrick McCraney's 24 points. Walker and Malachi Martin followed with 14 and 13 points, respectively, for the home-standing Bulldogs.
Coach Billy Begley's 8-0 EMCC Lions will travel to Ellisville to take on the Jones College Bobcats on Thursday (Dec. 8) before closing out the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule with a Monday (Dec. 12) contest at Shelton State in Tuscaloosa.