Lady Lions let first-half lead slip away in 78-47 home setback to Mississippi Gulf Coast

SCOOBA – East Mississippi Community College's basketball teams both let first-half leads slip away in dropping home decisions to Mississippi Gulf Coast during Monday's MACCC action played at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum. The EMCC women fell, 78-47, while the Lions were downed, 71-62, by the Bulldogs in the men's nightcap.

In women's action, the home-standing Lady Lions scored the game's first seven points and owned a 19-11 lead at the end of the opening quarter.

The momentum of the game began to change when Gulf Coast's Je'Mya Evans scored the first seven points of the second quarter. Despite Evans scoring 11 points in the quarter for the visitors, the Lady Lions held their own and only trailed by a point (31-30) at the half.

Following intermission, Evans continued her hot scoring night by knocking down the first two baskets of the second half to help ignite a 20-1 run that put the Lady Bulldogs on top, 51-31, by the three-minute mark of the third quarter. Though EMCC managed to cut the deficit to 15 points (54-39) by the end of the quarter on free throws by Kylah Bell and Shalea Boddie, Gulf Coast continued to pull away in the fourth quarter by completing a 47-17 second-half rally to produce the decisive 31-point road victory.

Falling to 3-13 overall and 0-2 in conference play, the EMCC women were led by Bell and Kennedi McCray with 16 and 13 points, respectively. Starkville's Nakeria Scales added 11 rebounds and six points for the Lady Lions.

The Gulf Coast women improved to 9-3 overall and 2-0 in MACCC action behind Evans' 29 points. Simaru Fields and Tytiana Buckley followed with 16 and 10 points, respectively.

In the men's nightcap, the Lions held the advantage over the visiting Bulldogs during the opening 20 minutes of play with the exception of three ties and a brief two-point (16-14) Gulf Coast lead midway through the half. Late in the half, Hunter McCutcheon's pair of free throws and first of three treys on the evening gave EMCC an 11-point (31-20) margin.

Following the halftime break, McCutcheon's second three-pointer of the night opened the second-half scoring and put the Lions in front, 36-27. Despite a pair of lead changes and a 47-47 tie, EMCC maintained a slim lead until the midway point of the half.

Jabbari Barry's 17 second-half points helped spark Gulf Coast's comeback. His third three-pointer of the half gave the Bulldogs a lead (54-52) they would not relinquish during the game's remaining eight minutes. His go-ahead trey also fueled a 10-1 run that helped open an eight-point (61-53) lead with four minutes left in the contest. The Lions were not able to get any closer than six points the rest of the way.

EMCC's Nick Walker recorded his 17^th career double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds, though he was limited to just one second-half attempt from the field. McCutcheon also had 15 points for the Lions, who fell to 7-10 overall and 0-2 within the conference. With 13 points on the night, Andrew Mason extended his season-long streak of scoring in double figures to 15 consecutive games.

Improving to 9-5 overall and 1-1 in MACCC play, the Gulf Coast men were paced by Jabarie Robinson's game-high 19 points. Barry and Omarion Smith followed with 17 and 15 points, respectively.

The East Mississippi basketball teams will continue conference action Thursday (Jan. 25) at Northwest Mississippi Community College. A 5:30 p.m. women's game will be followed by a 7:30 p.m. men's contest at Howard Coliseum in Senatobia.