Lady Lions use 25-point third quarter to post 67-52 home win over Holmes
East Mississippi Community College’s basketball teams both avenged last month’s losses to Holmes with convincing double-digit victories during Monday’s MACCC North Division action. EMCC’s Lady Lions used a 25-point third quarter to pull away with a 67-52 home win over the Holmes women at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum, while the visiting Lions had four players score in double figures to claim a solid 75-57 road triumph over the Bulldogs at Frank Branch Coliseum.
SCOOBA — East Mississippi Community College's basketball teams both avenged last month's losses to Holmes with convincing double-digit victories during Monday's MACCC North Division action. EMCC's Lady Lions used a 25-point third quarter to pull away with a 67-52 home win over the Holmes women at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum, while the visiting Lions had four players score in double figures to claim a solid 75-57 road triumph over the Bulldogs at Frank Branch Coliseum.
Following a slow start in which they trailed, 14-8, after the opening quarter, the home-standing EMCC women knotted the score, 25-25, by the halftime break.
Beginning with Ja'Mia Hollings' spinning basket in the lane to open the second-half scoring, the Lady Lions steadily built their lead throughout a productive third quarter in which they outscored Holmes, 25-12. Freshman forward Siarra Jackson capped the quarter by scoring seven straight points on a three-point play, a put-back basket and a pair of free throws over the final minute to give EMCC a 50-37 advantage heading into the final period.
The Lady Lions then maintained their double-digit cushion throughout the final 10 minutes of play, extending the margin to as many as 22 points (62-40) midway through the quarter following a 9-0 EMCC run.
Jackson finished with a team-high 15 points off the EMCC bench on 4-of-6 field goals and 7-of-10 free throws. Kyunna Thomas followed with a dozen points, while sophomore transfer point guard DenAsia Mitchell recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists.
Holmes' Jordyn Manning scored a game-high 19 points, while Gabrielle Bunch and Sha'Toria Vigne added 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the visitors.
Coach Sharon Thompson's 6-3 EMCC Lady Lions are scheduled to return to action on Monday (March 15) with a road contest against the Lady Trojans of Mississippi Delta.
In men's action from Goodman, the Lions shot 50 percent (15-30 FGs) from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play to mount a 39-23 halftime lead. Coming off his 21-point, 16-rebound effort in last Thursday's 75-55 home win over Coahoma, EMCC freshman forward Nick Walker continued his dominance inside with 14 points (5-7 FGs) and seven rebounds by halftime against Holmes.
While the Lions were efficient both from the field (48%) and the line (81%) on the night, they were also stingy on the defensive end. The Bulldogs were limited to just 33 percent (18-55 FGs) field-goal shooting during the game, including only 30 percent (9-30 FGs) from the field in the second half.
With four players scoring in double figures during the 18-point road win, EMCC received a career-high 20 points from sophomore guard Traemond Pittman on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 accuracy from the line. The Meridian product also had five rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
Walker finished with 16 points (5-9 FGs & 5-6 FTs) and nine rebounds, while Hunter McCutcheon followed with 15 points for the winners. In addition for the Lions, reigning all-conference forward Jakorie Smith registered his 12th career double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Holmes' Kaleb Higgins scored a game-high 21 points but was the only Bulldog player in double figures in the contest.
Coach Billy Begley's EMCC Lions, 9-4 overall and 7-3 in division play, are scheduled to play a makeup game Wednesday evening at Northwest Mississippi that was previously postponed due to COVID-19 concerns.