Jakorie Smith headlines trio of EMCC All-MACCC men's hoops selections

SCOOBA — East Mississippi Community College placed four players on the 2021 All-MACCC basketball teams, as voted on by conference head coaches and announced Thursday by the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference office.  Sophomores Jakorie Smith and Ja'Mia Hollings earned repeat men's and women's first-team honors on the respective MACCC North Division squads, while freshman guards Blake Butler and Hunter McCutcheon garnered men's second-team recognition.

Smith, a reigning all-conference and all-region forward, averaged a team-leading 13.3 points per game and added 7.7 boards as EMCC's second-leading rebounder on the year.  He also shot 48 percent overall from the field and 77 percent from the charity stripe for the 11-6 Lions.

As a two-year starter for Coach Billy Begley's EMCC Lions, Smith has averaged 14.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game for his career as a 49 percent shooter from the field and 75 percent from the free throw line.  The former Raymond High School standout also registered 12 career double-doubles during his two seasons in Scooba.

Both hailing from Louisville, Kentucky, EMCC's McCutcheon and Butler collected second-team, all-conference honors on the MACCC North Division men's squad as freshmen.  McCutcheon was the Lions' second-leading scorer at 12.6 points per game, including 53 three-pointers on 41 percent shooting from beyond the arc.  Butler averaged 12.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game as a 14-game starter.

For the EMCC women, Hollings averaged a double-double for the second straight year to repeat as a first-team, all-conference performer.  Along with averaging a team-leading 14.8 points (5^th in MACCC) and conference-best 10.1 rebounds an outing, the West Point product connected on a league-high 58.6 percent from the field (10^th in NJCAA) and 73 percent from the charity stripe for the 12-5 Lady Lions.

With 22 career double-doubles to her credit, Hollings has averaged 14.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per contest, while shooting 60 percent from the field and 72 percent from the line, as a two-year starter who helped lead Coach Sharon Thompson's Lady Lions to a two-year composite record of 36-8.  A year ago for EMCC's 24-3 conference championship club, Hollings averaged 14.0 points and 10.2 boards per game, while connecting on 61 percent of her field goals and 71 percent of her free throws, as a freshman.  She also earned MACCC Player of the Week honors four times during her EMCC career.