First-half three-point barrage spurs EMCC Lions to key 79-70 hoops win over host Tallahassee CC in Best Western Holiday Classic
Sophomore guards Jacolby Mobley and Avery Woodson combined for 44 points to help propel the East Mississippi Community College men's basketball team to a quality 79-70 road win over host Tallahassee Community College during Monday's opening-day action of the Best Western Holiday Classic played at TCC's Bill Hebrock Eagledome.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Sophomore guards Jacolby Mobley and Avery Woodson combined for 44 points to help propel the East Mississippi Community College men's basketball team to a quality 79-70 road win over host Tallahassee Community College during Monday's opening-day action of the Best Western Holiday Classic played at TCC's Bill Hebrock Eagledome.
Shaking off the early effects of nearly a three-week hiatus from competition, head coach Mark White's EMCC Lions outscored the home-standing TCC Eagles, 27-7, over the final 11 minutes of the opening half to take a 41-27 advantage going into the intermission. The visitors' run was ignited by seven made 3-pointers in 14 attempts during the opening 20 minutes of play – three by Woodson and two treys each by Mobley and Louisiana-Monroe signee Mack Foster.
Tallahassee opened the second half with six unanswered points to cut the margin to eight points. The EMCC lead was later trimmed to five points on a couple of occasions, before the Lions reassumed control of the contest midway through the closing period en route to the key nine-point road triumph.
With his second 20-point effort of the campaign, Mobley connected on 6-of-12 shots from the field, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, to lead all scorers. The Starkville native and Tennessee-Chattanooga signee also hit 10-of-12 charity tosses on the night. Woodson, a University of Memphis signee, was 8-of-17 overall from the floor, including 4-of-8 accuracy from three-point range.
Falling to 10-5 on the year, Tallahassee received 18 points apiece from Earvin Morris and Cameron Naylor. Ranked fourth in the Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA), the Eagles had their five-game winning streak snapped by EMCC.
The 6-1 EMCC Lions will close out the 2013 calendar year by taking on Eastern Florida State College Tuesday afternoon in second-day action of the TCC-hosted Best Western Holiday Classic. The 11-3 EFSC Titans are coached by former EMCC assistant coach Jeremy Shulman. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. CST, and the contest is scheduled to be video-streamed live via EMCC's athletics website, www.EMCCAthletics.com, with EMCC media director Derek Cody set to call the play-by-play action.