EMCC Lions drop 70-64 opening-round men’s decision to Hinds at Region 23 Basketball Tournament

CLINTON – In a hard-fought, opening-round battle, the fourth-seeded Lions of East Mississippi Community College dropped a tough 70-64 decision to No. 5 seed Hinds Community College during Tuesday's men's action of the NJCAA Region 23 Basketball Tournament being played at A.E. Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus.

In a tightly contested matchup for the entire 40 minutes of play, the two teams battled through five lead changes and a couple of deadlocks during the opening half before EMCC grabbed a narrow 27-25 halftime edge.  Sophomore guard Donte Powers, out of Starkville, provided the first-half spark by hitting all four of his shot attempts, including a trio of 3-pointers, for the Lions.

East Mississippi continued to hold the advantage for the opening 10 minutes of the second stanza.  After the Lions were up by as many as five points on three occasions following the break, EMCC and Hinds again fought through a pair of ties and four more lead changes midway through the second half.

The Lions seemed to temporarily regain control of the contest coming down the stretch after Arecko Gipson Jr. drilled a 3-pointer with just over five minutes remaining in the game.  The Bulldogs, however, then went on a 9-1 run over the next couple of minutes, capped by Peyton Taylor's banked trey following an offensive rebound of a missed free throw that put Hinds back in front to stay.

After Traemond Pittman's timely 3-pointer cut EMCC's deficit to just a single point (63-62) with 2:23 left in the contest, Hinds' Dontrell McQuarter then single-handedly put the game out of reach by knocking down two clutch, long-range 3-pointers during the final minute of play.  His only two trey attempts of the game put the Bulldogs on top, 69-64, with 14 seconds left to play.

Gipson led EMCC's trio of double-digit scorers with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field.  Powers followed with 15 points, while freshman forward Jakorie Smith recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Improving to 16-8 on the season, Hinds had four players score in double figures led by McQuarter's 19 points.  Taylor followed with 15 points, while Kejuan Clements and Jordan Johnson added 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Bulldogs.    

Coach Billy Begley's EMCC Lions conclude the 2019-20 season with a 16-9 overall record after finishing the regular season in second place with a 9-3 MACJC North Division record.  A year ago, the Lions claimed the school's first MACJC men's basketball championship since the 1930s.  

Hinds moves on to face MACJC champion and undefeated Pearl River in Thursday's 3 p.m. men's semifinals.  Prior to that contest, the other semifinal-round men's matchup will pit Jones against Northwest Mississippi at 1 p.m.