EMCC Lions hold off Coahoma 85-76 on the road; Lady Lions upset 80-70 in women's action

CLARKSDALE – Sophomores Jahyde Gardiner and Juan Davis Jr. combined for 46 points to power visiting East Mississippi Community College to an 85-76 men's victory over the Coahoma Tigers during Monday night MACJC North Division basketball action at the Pinnacle.  In women's action, the EMCC Lady Lions were upset, 80-70, to fall for just the second time in division play this season.

In the men's nightcap, EMCC's Gardiner and Davis made 10-of-13 shots from the field between them to combine for 26 first-half points, as the visitors grabbed a comfortable 53-34 halftime advantage.  The Lions seemed to be firmly in control of the contest with a 25-point lead early in the second stanza.

That's when the Tigers began to get red-hot from beyond the three-point arc with eight second-half 3-pointers that pulled the home team to within a single point late in the game.  Midway through the second stanza, Coahoma hit three straight treys to cut an 18-point deficit (68-50) in half.  The pesky Tigers kept battling and managed to trim the margin to just one point on a couple of occasions late in the contest.

However, each time at 72-71 and 74-73, EMCC responded with put-back baskets.  The latter bucket off an offensive board by Davis with less than three minutes remaining sparked a 7-0 run down the stretch that gave the Lions some breathing room again.  They iced the contest by hitting seven free throws over the final 1:28 to claim the hard-earned, nine-point victory and improve to 16-4 overall on the year and get above the .500 mark (5-4) in division play for the first time this season.

Coach Billy Begley's victorious EMCC Lions were led by Gardiner and Davis with 24 and 22 points, respectively.  Gardiner, a UT Martin signee from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, added 10 rebounds to register his 17^th career double-double.  Davis, a West Point product, connected on 10-of-15 shot attempts en route to his career-high scoring total in addition to pulling down nine rebounds.

Falling to 4-16 overall and 1-8 within the division, the Coahoma men were led by Dewuan Fowler's 20 points, including 5-of-11 accuracy from three-point range.

The women's contest had the early makings of a rout with EMCC scoring the game's first 15 points before the Lady Tigers could get on the scoreboard.  Leading 22-8 after the opening quarter, the Lady Lions still maintained a double-digit lead midway through the second quarter before Coahoma's Tomaja Shaw drained three straight 3-pointers to erase the deficit.  Eugenia Gilliam's floater at the buzzer then gave the home team a 36-35 halftime lead.

Entering the contest at 3-16 overall and 1-7 in division play, the Lady Tigers rode the comeback momentum throughout the second half while maintaining the lead virtually the entire closing 20 minutes of action.  A narrow 57-55 Coahoma lead at the end of the third quarter was bolstered by consecutive baskets by Melvinisha Jenkins to open the final period.  The Lady Lions could get no closer than four points over the final five minutes en route to dropping their third decision in four February outings.

Coach Sharon Thompson's 13-5, 7-2 EMCC Lady Lions were once again powered by three-time MACJC Player of the Week Quantesha Patterson, as the former East Webster High School standout recorded her 11^th double-double of her freshman season with 24 points and 14 rebounds.  Columbus product Ki-Ki Patterson followed with 17 points.

The inside tandem of Gilliam (33/11) and Jenkins (16/11) combined for 49 points and 22 rebounds for Coahoma's Lady Tigers.

With postseason tournament seeding and possible regular-season division championships on the line, the East Mississippi basketball teams will play host to rival Itawamba Community College Thursday evening at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus.  A 5:30 p.m. women's contest pitting the division's top two teams will be followed by an equally critical 7:30 p.m. men's battle.