EMCC Lions put five in double figures in 92-79 home win over rival ECCC; Lady Lions fall 67-65 in season rematch
The East Mississippi Community College basketball teams tipped off the 2015 portion of their season slate by earning a split with traditional rival East Central Community College during Tuesday's MACJC hoops action at EMCC's Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.
SCOOBA – The East Mississippi Community College basketball teams tipped off the 2015 portion of their season slate by earning a split with traditional rival East Central Community College during Tuesday's MACJC hoops action at EMCC's Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.
The Warriors managed to trim the margin to seven points on three occasions during the opening seven minutes of the second stanza, but two more Finley treys near the midway mark of the half bumped EMCC's lead back up to double digits for the remaining 12 minutes of the contest. From that point on, the difference stood at 15 points multiple times en route to the 13-point outcome in favor of the home team.
Improving to 8-2 overall on the season and marking the 15th series victory over East Central in 18 meetings during Mark White's eight-year head coaching stint in Scooba, the EMCC Lions had five players score in double figures. Finley, a former Meridian High School standout, and Gardiner finished with 20 points apiece to lead all game scorers. Freshmen La'Datren Deas and Juan Davis Jr., followed with 16 and 13 points, respectively, while transfer guard Shelvick Henry Jr., added a dozen points for the winners.
Falling to 6-5 for the year, the East Central men were led by Isaiah Traylor and Prince McDaniel with 17 and 16 points, respectively.
In the competitive women's contest, the Lady Lions battled back from a 12-point, first-half deficit to trail by only three points (34-31) at the half. A 3-pointer by Samantha Duncan spurred a 9-2 East Central run coming out of the break to extend the margin to double digits (43-33) by the 17:24 mark.
EMCC continued to play catch-up throughout the closing period, narrowing the deficit to three points on a couple of occasions early in the half only to have the Lady Warriors re-establish control each time. With former Columbus High School All-American Ki-Ki Patterson and Kemper County High School product Robyn Rush combining for 21 second-half points, the Lady Lions mounted a game-ending rally with a chance to at least tie the contest in the closing moments.
With the home team down by six points (67-61) heading into the final minute of play, Rush converted her third put-back basket of the half to begin the late comeback attempt. Following a traveling violation in the lane by East Central, Patterson connected on a pull-up jumper to make it a two-point game with 37 seconds remaining in regulation. On the subsequent possession, the Lady Warriors ran down the shot clock only to manage a failed desperation three-point attempt. However, with the Lady Lions having to push the ball the length of the court in just five seconds, East Central's defense prevented EMCC from getting off a potential game-deciding shot attempt.
Coach Sharon Thompson's 5-5 EMCC Lady Lions received a season-high 14 points from Rush and 13 points by Patterson.
Improving to 10-1 on the year and completing the season sweep over the EMCC women, the Lady Warriors were paced by Shakerya Morrison and Jalesia Jones with 16 and 14 points, respectively.
The East Mississippi basketball teams continue their final full week of non-division, regular-season play by traveling to rival Meridian Community College on Thursday for another rematch hoops doubleheader. A 5:30 p.m. women's contest will be followed by a 7:30 p.m. men's game at Graham Gymnasium on the MCC campus. Both games are slated to be video-streamed live on www.EMCCAthletics.com/live.