Lions take sole possession of MACJC North Division lead with 74-65 home win over ICC

SCOOBA – The EMCC Lions claimed sole possession of first place in the MACJC North Division men's basketball standings while staying unbeaten in division play with Thursday's 74-65 home victory over Itawamba at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.  The first-place Lady Lions also improved to 5-0 within the division by earning a 65-59 overtime triumph over the visiting Lady Indians during women's action.

The men's nightcap featured a competitive opening half of play with 12 lead changes, including a Donte Powers 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to give the Lions a narrow 39-37 edge.  Powers, out of Starkville, led the way for the Lions through the opening 20 minutes with 14 first-half points.

ICC's biggest lead was five points during two occasions midway through the first half.

EMCC established command of the contest following the break by scoring the first seven points of the half on Jakorie Smith's 3-pointer followed by consecutive baskets from Arecko Gipson Jr.  Smith and Gipson teamed to score the Lions' first dozen points of the second stanza, as their combined 12-3 run over ICC to start the half gave the home team a 51-40 advantage with 13:38 left in the game.

The Lions maintained their comfortable margin for the remainder of the game, extending the lead to 15 points (69-54) on a pair of Danny Washington free throws with 3:31 left in the game.  The nine-point final outcome marked EMCC's 11^th consecutive win in MACJC North Division regular-season play dating back to last year's MACJC conference championship season.        

Coach Billy Begley's 12-4 EMCC Lions (5-0 in MACJC North) had four players score in double figures against the Indians with Gipson and Powers leading the way with 19 and 18 points, respectively.  Gipson, from Memphis, shot 9-of-14 from the field and added a team-high nine rebounds.  Smith followed with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting in addition to grabbing eight rebounds, while Washington contributed 11 points in the Lions' fifth consecutive series win over ICC dating back to the 2017-18 season.

Dropping to 6-9 overall and 2-3 in division play, the Itawamba men were paced by Tyler Smith's game-high 20 points.  Brandon Brown added 13 points for the Indians.

In a battle of unbeaten teams within the division, the women's contest featured six second-quarter deadlocks after the Lady Lions held a slim 15-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.  After EMCC regained the lead following a 29-28 halftime deficit, the Lady Indians reclaimed the advantage by scoring the last five points of the third quarter to move ahead, 42-40, heading to the final 10 minutes of regulation.

The low-scoring fourth quarter featured four early lead changes and a pair of ties down the stretch.  After EMCC's Topazia Hawkins' three-point play knotted the score at 49-49 with 2:09 remaining, Shomaria Overton answered with a basket to give Itawamba a 51-49 lead.  Following missed scoring opportunities at both ends, EMCC's all-conference guard Tye Metcalf hit a pull-up jumper to tie the game with 21 seconds left in regulation.  Both teams held tight defensively on subsequent possessions to send the game into overtime tied at 51-51.

The extra session began with the game's 11^th deadlock (53-53) two minutes into overtime.  A Tia Daniels driving basket in the lane and Taylor Lattimore's fifth made 3-pointer of the night gave the Lady Lions a five-point lead with 1:52 remaining on the game clock.  After Kealy Wilson's bucket made it a one-possession game, EMCC essentially sealed its 10^th consecutive home victory (7-0 this season) dating back to last season with back-to-back, three-point plays from Metcalf and Ja'Mia Hollings to extend the lead to 64-55 with 30 seconds left.

Coach Sharon Thompson's 14-2 EMCC Lady Lions (5-0 in MACJC North) were powered by Hollings' ninth double-double of the season.  The freshman from West Point tallied a team-most 16 points (6-8 FGs & 4-4 FTs) and collected a season-high 15 rebounds to go along with four assists, two steals and two blocked shots.  Off the bench, Lattimore followed with 15 points on five made treys, while Metcalf and Hawkins contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively, to the winning effort.

The Lady Lions' current nine-game win streak marks their longest string since winning 11 consecutive games during the 2008-09 season en route to claiming the MACJC North Division regular-season title and earning an NJCAA Tournament berth by capturing the 2009 NJCAA Region 23 Tournament championship.   

Falling to 12-3 overall with their first division loss in five tries, the Lady Indians were led by Tabreea Gandy's 16 points and 15 points from Overton.  Wilson was also in double figures for ICC with a dozen points.

The East Mississippi basketball teams will close out the first half of the MACJC's 12-game North Division regular-season schedule by traveling to Booneville to take on the Tigers of Northeast Mississippi Community College on Monday evening.  A 5:30 p.m. women's game will be followed by a 7:30 p.m. men's contest at Bonner Arnold Coliseum on the Northeast campus.