Lions win fourth straight with 78-53 victory at Mississippi Delta

East Mississippi Community College's basketball teams swept Mississippi Delta during Thursday's MACCC action played on the schools' respective campuses. The home-standing Lady Lions claimed a 56-52 comeback win over Delta in women's action, while the EMCC men posted a commanding 78-53 road victory over the Trojans.

In men's action played at J.T. Hall Coliseum in Moorhead, the Lions scored the first seven points of the contest and never looked back. Consecutive dunks by DJ Avery gave EMCC a double-figure lead (14-3) by the 16:22 mark of the opening half.

After the Trojans cut the deficit to five points (24-19) on Nicholaus Counsil's triple around the eight-minute mark, the visitors outscored Delta, 14-4, the rest of the half to extend their lead to 38-23 by halftime.

Following the break, the Lions maintained their double-digit lead for the remainder of the contest. Tremaine Dixon Jr.'s three-pointer bumped the margin up to 20 points (48-28) by the 16:46 mark of the second stanza. Consecutive made treys by Avery, Andrew Mason and Kevin Henry later in the half gave EMCC its largest lead of the game at 74-45 with 2:45 left.

The Lions' 25-point victory at Delta marked their fourth straight win and kept them one game behind front-running Itawamba in the MACCC men's basketball standings.

Avery led EMCC with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 from the line in addition to collecting eight rebounds. Henry followed with 14 points on 4-of-5 field goal shooting, including hitting all three of his three-point attempts. Terrell Dixon contributed a dozen points off the EMCC bench by making six of his eight shots from the field along with grabbing eight rebounds, including six offensive boards.

The Delta men were led by Jherrone Jones' 15 points, while Jequann Roberson and Jarvadrick Jackson followed with 10 points apiece for the Trojans.

In the women's game contested at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum in Scooba, the Lady Trojans used an early 13-3 spurt to grab a 17-9 lead at the end of the opening quarter. The visitors then scored the first five points of the second quarter to jump out to their largest lead of the game at 22-9.

Kennedi Jimison provided the needed spark for EMCC by drilling a trio of three-pointers during a four-minute stretch. Gabby Collier then followed with a made trey of her own to cap an 11-0 run and pull the Lady Lions to within a point (24-23) by the 4:27 mark of the first half.

Delta weathered EMCC's initial surge with consecutive made baskets and went on to maintain a 34-28 halftime lead. The Lady Trojans again created some distance following intermission by reclaiming a double-digit lead in the third quarter, before Jimison's fourth made three-pointer of the game trimmed the margin to seven points (46-39) heading into the final period.

The Lady Lions scored eight unanswered points to knot the score at 47-47 on Sadie Williams' basket in the lane midway through the fourth quarter. Kylah Bell's bucket then gave EMCC its first lead of the game at 49-48 with four minutes left in the contest. Following a brief lead change, Collier's made basket put the home team on top for good. After trailing for most of the contest, the Lady Lions outscored Delta, 17-6, during the final quarter to get the four-point victory and move back to .500 within conference play at 3-3.

Collier and Jimison led EMCC in scoring with 16 and 12 points, respectively. For the visitors, Ti'Alone Banks and Santia Robinson paced Mississippi Delta with a dozen points apiece.

The East Mississippi basketball teams continue MACCC play by taking on Northeast Mississippi on Monday (Jan. 30). Head coach Billy Begley's EMCC Lions (14-2, 5-1 MACCC) will play host to the Tigers on the Scooba campus, while head coach Isaiah Butler's EMCC Lady Lions (5-8, 3-3 MACCC) will travel to Booneville to meet the Northeast women. Both games are scheduled for 6 p.m. tip-offs.