MERIDIAN —     One year after Bo Wallace turned one productive season at the helms of the East Mississippi Community College offense into a Division I scholarship, Quez Johnson did likewise.

    Johnson, a redshirt freshman from Starkville, committed to Florida Atlantic on Monday according to recruiting websites scout.com and rivals.com.

    In his lone season as the Lions’ quarterback, Johnson completed 59.3 percent of his passes for 2,846 yards and 27 touchdowns to just nine interceptions. Johnson also rushed for 540 yards and 12 touchdowns as he guided the defending national champions to an 8-0 start before EMCC dropped its final two games.

— from staff reports



PREP BASKETBALL

Lamar girls    54

Newton Co. Aca.    30

    The Raiders raced out to a 21-4 lead after the first quarter and cruised from there as Olivia Mabry poured in 20 points. Allie Shirley added 16.

    The 7-1 Raiders host Kemper Academy today.

— Jamie Wachter



NE Lauderdale    45

Morton girls    28

    The Trojans won their opener in the East Central Classic on Monday, advancing to a matchup today with second-seeded Forest.

    Tarmacia Mack led Northeast, which after scoring only seven points in the first quarter poured in 17 in the second, with 14 points. Shaqunta McDonald added 13, while Brittney Williams and Dana Logan each chipped in with six.

— Jamie Wachter



JUCO BASKETBALL

East Miss. men    87

Georgia Highlands    77

    ROME, Ga. — Jarekious Bradley, the NJCAA’s leading scorer, pumped in a game-high 32 points to lead the 26th-ranked Lions of East Mississippi Community College to an 87-77 road win against Georgia Highlands College.

    Entering the contest averaging 30 points per game, Bradley tallied 21 of his 32 points in the opening 20 minutes of play to stake the visitors to a 45-40 halftime lead. The sophomore transfer from Midland College in Texas posted his third straight 30-point effort.

    The Lions, now 3-1 on the year, built their lead to double digits six minutes into the second half and never relinquished control of the contest the remainder of the way. Freshman guard Jacolby Mobley added a season-high 25 points.

— from school reports



Georgia Highlands    58

East miss. women    42

    The Lions battled the Chargers tough throughout the first half and during the early portion of the second stanza. Down 31-26 at the half, the visitors cut the deficit to three points (35-32) on a pair of Nockeyia Qualls free throws five minutes into the second half.

    The GHC women responded with seven unanswered points before EMCC freshman post player Savannah Kimmons trimmed GHC’s lead to eight points (42-34) by scoring inside with 11:22 remaining. However, that was the only field goal the Lions would manage during a turnover-filled dry spell. During that time, the Chargers’ cushion ballooned to 19 points en route to posting their eighth victory of the year in as many outings.

    With four of their six losses coming to teams ranked nationally at some point this season, the EMCC women fell to 1-6 on the season. Freshman Takera Mitchell, of Wayne County, paced the visitors with 10 points.

— from school reports



NE Mississippi    79

Meridian women    62

    The Meridian Community College women were looking to continue their momentum on the road Monday night at Northeast Mississippi Community College, but the Tigers had other ideas.

    Northeast ran away with the game in the second half thanks to a pair of long scoring runs to take a 79-62 victory against MCC. The Tigers improved to 3-3, while the Eagles dropped to 5-3.

    Kristin Sampson and Gelese Lampton led the way in scoring for MCC with 13 points apiece, while former Meridian High star Reyada Stinner finished with 10 points. Sophomore Malaka Johnson ended the game with nine points and led MCC with 11 rebounds.

— from school reports



NE Mississippi    69

Meridian men    66

    MCC has now lost nine straight to open the season.

    Northeast held a 32-25 lead at the end of the first half and was able to hold off the Eagles in the second half. The Eagles chipped away at the NEMCC lead that was at double digits on several occasions in the second half.

    Aubrey Humphrey led the MCC effort with 25 points and seven rebounds in the loss, while Will Sheriff added 14 points. Sophomore guard Nick Waters finished in double figures for the Eagles with 12 points.

— from school reports

    MCC ended the game by shooting 42 percent from the field, while the Tigers shot nearly 50 percent from the floor. The Eagles continued his solid defensive effort by forcing 21 Northeast turnovers and ended the game with 16 steals as a team.

    Malcom Hamilton and KeDorian Sullivan led the way in scoring for Northeast with 10 points apiece in the home victory.

    MCC will return to action Wednesday night on the road at Bishop State beginning at 7:30 p.m.