Bradley’s 30 points lift EMCC Lions to 77-73 win at Delta; Lady Lions fall 53-48 despite comeback attempt

MOORHEAD – Jarekious Bradley's 30 points lifted the East Mississippi Community College men's basketball team to a key 77-73 road win over Mississippi Delta Community College Thursday night at J.T. Hall Coliseum.  Despite a valiant second-half comeback, the EMCC Lady Lions fell 53-48 to the home-standing Lady Trojans.

In the nightcap, the visiting Lions utilized the three-point shot to overcome an early deficit.  Three-point baskets by Bradley, Micah Walker and Jacolby Mobley ignited an EMCC run that steadily grew into a 15-point lead (39-24) late in the half.  A 44-32 halftime lead by the visitors increased to 16 points (49-33) early in the second stanza, before the Trojans began hitting from long range themselves to make things very entertaining over the game's final 12 minutes.

Four Delta treys – three by Anthony McDonald – highlighted a 17-0 run that gave the Trojans a brief 50-49 lead by the 12:18 mark.  Following an EMCC timeout, Bradley connected on a triple and Walker added a basket as the Lions regained control thanks largely in part to greater intensity on the defensive end of the court.

Later in the half, Bradley's three-point play on a reverse lay-in basket around the 7:00 mark broke a 54-54 tie.  After the two teams basically traded baskets for the next five minutes, Bradley again came up big by nailing a clutch 3-pointer from the left corner to put the Lions on top 71-66 with just over two minutes remaining in the contest.

Less than a minute later, Bradley once again was clutch by converting a put-back basket off a missed Nick Giles free throw to give the Lions a 74-68 advantage with only 1:33 left in regulation.  To their credit, the Trojans answered back with a long 3-pointer by Marquarius Boddie and a pair of free throws by Starkville's James Evans to trim the margin to a single point (74-73) with 37.4 seconds still left to play.

After Giles again converted 1-of-2 free throws, Delta gained possession down by two points and called their final timeout with 21.5 seconds remaining.  However, the Trojans were whistled for an over-and-back violation on the ensuing in-bounds pass at midcourt.  EMCC's Trey Brown proceeded to ice the road win with a two-hand slam dunk on the other end. 

With 17 of his game-high 30 points coming in the second half, Bradley's effort marked his fourth 30-point outing of the season.  Sophomores Brown and Walker were also in double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively, for head coach Mark White's EMCC Lions, who improved to 13-6 overall and 6-2 within the division.

Falling to 6-11 overall and 3-5 in division play, the MDCC Trojans were led by McDonald's 21 points, including five 3-pointers.  

In the women's game, the Lady Lions recovered from a 28-13 halftime deficit by opening the second half on a 16-1 run to even the score at 29-29 with 11:45 remaining in the contest.  Delta's lone point during that half-opening stretch was a free throw by Krystal Nailer at the 13:44 mark.  The Lady Trojans' first basket of the half didn't come until Shanarika McCullum scored with just over 11 minutes left in regulation.

The EMCC women went on to grab their first lead (34-33) since early in the contest on Brianna May's second 3-pointer of the game midway through the closing period.  The lead was short-lived, however, as Shuntequa Lofton converted a three-point play on which EMCC post player Savannah Kimmons fouled out to put the Lady Trojans back in front to stay.

The margin stayed within six points for the remainder of the contest, though the Lady Lions were hurt during the game's latter stages by their inability to keep the Delta women off the offensive boards.  Free throws down the stretch by the home team also helped determine the five-point outcome.

Freshman Takera Mitchell, of Wayne County High School, led all scorers with a season-high 18 points for head coach Sharon Thompson's EMCC Lady Lions, who dropped to 5-14 overall and 3-5 in the division.  Fellow freshman Charmane Tims added 11 points for the visitors.

Improving to 8-9 overall and 3-5 in division play, the Lady Trojans were led by McCullum's 15 points.  Nailer added 12 points in the winning effort.

With two weeks left in the MACJC's regular season, the East Mississippi basketball teams return to action Monday night (Feb. 11) by playing host to Northeast Mississippi Community College on the Scooba campus.  A 5:30 p.m. women's game will be followed by a 7:30 p.m. men's contest at EMCC's Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.