EMCC Lions claim fifth straight with 84-66 home win over Itawamba; Lady Lions fall 65-45 to ICC women

SCOOBA – On the strength of 15 made three-point baskets, the Lions of East Mississippi Community College claimed their fifth straight win with an 84-66 home triumph over rival Itawamba Community College Tuesday night in MACJC North Division play.  In the women's game, the visiting ICC Lady Indians posted a 65-45 victory over the Lady Lions at EMCC's Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.

The hot-shooting EMCC Lions grabbed an early double-digit lead at 18-6 six minutes into the contest following consecutive baskets by sophomore Jarekious Bradley.  Later in the half, Jacolby Mobley's four-point play at the 8:12 mark pushed the advantage to 20 points (32-12).  In going up by as many as 25 points (47-22) late in the half, the Lions owned a comfortable 47-28 halftime cushion.

After connecting on 18-of-32 (56%) field goals, including 9-of-19 shooting from beyond the three-point arc in the opening half, the Lions continued their blistering pace following the intermission with three more made treys early in the second stanza.  Following a dry spell, in which the Indians outscored EMCC 9-2 during a five-minute stretch to cut the deficit to 14 points (62-48) with 8:55 remaining, Bradley got the home team back on track by hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to bump up the margin to 20 points by the 7:46 mark.

From there, the Lions' lead ballooned to a game-high 26 points (77-51) on a three-point play by Mobley with 5:17 left in the game.  Settling for the convincing 18-point decision, the victory marked EMCC's 10^th consecutive series win over Itawamba dating back to the 2008-09 season under the guidance of head coach Mark White.

For the game, the EMCC men shot 58 percent from the field on 33-of-57 field goals, including an even 50 percent (15-of-30) from three-point range.  In addition, the Lions were credited with 22 assists on their 33 made field goals for the night.

Improving to 11-4 overall and remaining unbeaten in four division outings, the EMCC Lions were led by Mobley and Bradley with 25 and 21 points, respectively.  A freshman from Starkville High School, Mobley hit 9-of-12 shots from the field, including 5-of-8 accuracy from three-point land.

Evening their record to 8-8 overall and 1-4 within the division, the ICC Indians were paced by Quintin Lee's 19 points.

The ICC Lady Indians never trailed in the women's contest.  With the visitors owning a 31-21 halftime lead, EMCC's Lady Lions battled to keep the margin within reach during the early portion of the second half.  Wilma Davis' 3-pointer made it a 12-point (46-34) contest with around 13 minutes remaining, but Itawamba answered with four straight baskets to increase its lead to 20 points.

The EMCC women could only get as close as 15 points the rest of the way in falling to 3-12 overall and 1-3 in division play.  Head coach Sharon Thompson's Lady Lions were led by freshmen Savannah Kimmons and Davis, of West Point, with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Improving to 10-6 overall and 4-1 within the division, the Lady Indians were paced by Ty-Nita Baker's double-double performance of 23 points and 11 rebounds.

The East Mississippi basketball teams stay in division play by traveling to Senatobia to take on Northwest Mississippi Community College Thursday evening in a 5/7 p.m. hoops doubleheader. 

All EMCC basketball games throughout the 2012-13 season are slated to be video-streamed live on the school's Ustream channel at www.ustream.tv/channel/emcc-basketball, which can be easily accessed through the school's newly launched athletics website, www.EMCCAthletics.com.