EMCC battles back from late 21-point deficit to earn 80-75 OT home win over Itawamba; Lady Lions fall 55-46

SCOOBA – With both teams battling for their postseason lives, the Lions of East Mississippi Community College overcame a 21-point, second-half deficit to claim an improbable 80-75 overtime victory over visiting Itawamba Community College Thursday night at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.

In a women's game pitting the MACJC North Division front-runners, the ICC Lady Indians prevailed over the home-standing Lady Lions, 55-46, to all but lock up another regular-season division title with just one week remaining prior to the upcoming MACJC State Basketball Tournament.  The four-day (Feb. 22-25) state tourney will be hosted by the MACJC North women's champion.

The EMCC-ICC instant classic featured a pair of comebacks by the Lions, but nothing like what happened over the final eight minutes of regulation.  After the visitors went up by 15 points (29-14) midway through the opening half, the Lions managed to slice the deficit in half (36-29) by the intermission.

As the second stanza began, EMCC scored seven unanswered points to pull to within three points (39-36) by the 15:35 mark.  That's when the wheels began to come off for the Lions and the rim became tighter and tighter on the offensive end.  With the home team struggling to make shots of any kind, the Indians ran off 18 consecutive points to surge to a seemingly insurmountable 57-36 advantage with 8:25 remaining in regulation.

Aided by EMCC's full-court pressure and Itawamba's decision to take time off the clock by slowing the game's pace, the comeback for the ages was sparked initially by Nat Dixon's dunk following a backcourt steal.  Daniel Simmons then scored eight of EMCC's next 10 points by attacking the basket to get the raucous home crowd back into the contest.  With Dixon hitting a pair of key 3-pointers and Juan Davis Jr. becoming a factor inside both offensively and defensively down the stretch, it was Jahyde Gardiner's clutch trey with 19.1 seconds left in regulation that gave the Lions a short-lived 64-62 lead.  The comeback result had to wait another five minutes, though, as ICC's Quenten Taylor knotted the score at 64-64 with a game-tying bucket with 5.5 ticks left.

With 13 of his 16 points coming after the break, Dixon again got things started for the Lions by hitting another triple to begin the overtime session.  With EMCC holding a slim lead throughout the extra period, Itawamba's Martaveous McKnight sank a 3-pointer that bounced around the rim and fell in to tie the score at 75-all with 48.6 seconds left.  Perhaps the biggest hero during EMCC's late-game turnaround, Simmons then capped the thrilling comeback by hitting a trey and adding two free throws over the final 32 seconds of overtime to seal the victory and complete the season sweep over the rival Indians.

A sophomore from Biggersville, Simmons tallied 18 of his career-high 28 points after halftime to lead all scorers.  He also added eight rebounds, two assists and two steals in his heroic all-around effort.  Improving to 17-4 overall and 6-4 in division play, head coach Billy Begley's EMCC Lions also received double-figure scoring efforts from West Point's Davis (15) and Gardiner (12), a UT Martin signee.

Led by McKnight and Barri Hill with 15 points apiece, the ICC men fell to 12-10 and 5-6.

In the defensive-minded women's game, the Lady Indians broke open a 26-26 deadlock at the halftime break by outscoring EMCC, 15-6, in the third quarter.  Scoring the first seven points of the fourth quarter, the Lady Lions managed to cut the deficit to a single point twice in the final period but could never tie the game or reclaim the lead.

Midway through the last quarter, EMCC freshman Quantesha Patterson scored inside on a nice entry pass from Bre Jernigan to pull to within one point for the second time.  Itawamba promptly responded with five straight points to bump up the margin to six points (52-46).  T.J. Harper's basket was answered by Alontra Tucker's drive to the basket to get it back to a six-point contest.  The Lady Indians iced the win and earned the season's series split with EMCC by converting three free throws over the final 24 seconds.

With her 12^th double-double of the season, EMCC's Patterson had 15 points and 15 rebounds for head coach Sharon Thompson's Lady Lions, who fell to 13-6 overall and 7-3 within the division.  Former Columbus High School standout Ki-Ki Patterson was EMCC's only other player to score in double digits with 11 points.

Improving to 17-5 overall and staying atop the division at 9-2, the Itawamba women were paced by Jabria Pounds and Tucker with 16 and 10 points, respectively.  The Lady Indians can officially lock up the MACJC North Division women's championship and secure themselves as hosts of the following week's state tourney by beating last-place Mississippi Delta (1-19, 0-10) Monday night in Fulton. 

Heading into the final week of the regular season, the East Mississippi basketball teams will travel to Goodman for a Monday doubleheader against Holmes before playing host to Northwest Mississippi in a Thursday twin-bill on "Sophomore Night" at EMCC's Currie Coliseum.