MERIDIAN —     With the prep basketball regular season winding down, division tournaments are set to begin Feb. 6 and the area will be swarmed with action.

    Meridian, which finishes Division 5-6A play tonight at Hattiesburg, will host the division tournament. The WIldcats, though, are just one of five area schools that will serve as hosts that week, the Mississippi High School Activities Association announced Thursday.

    In addition to MHS, Neshoba Central will host Division 3-5A, West Lauderdale will host Division 5-4A, Choctaw Central will host Division 5-3A and Union will host Division 6-2A.

    While area teams won't have to travel far for division play, those teams that qualify to the North State or South State tournaments will. Choctaw Central is the only area school with a chance to host, as the Warriors are the third option for the Class 3A girls South State tournament. Choctaw would host if Forest and Franklin County don't advance that far. Pass Christian, which is the fourth choice for the girls' tournament, is the top host site for the Class 3A boys, followed by Forest.

    In Class 6A, Gulfport is slated to host the boys South State tournament followed by Hattiesburg, Harrison Central and Biloxi in the pecking order. On the girls side, Oak Grove is the top host site, followed by Ocean Springs, Forest Hill, Harrison Central, Biloxi and Gulfport.

    Raymond is the top choice for the Class 4A South State tournament, followed by Laurel and Bay; with Forrest County AHS, Richland and North Pike the option on the girls side.

    In South State Class 2A, Bay Springs is the lone site selected by MHSAA as released Thursday. Taylorsville and Scott Central are hosting option for the girls tournament.

    And in Class 5A North State, Neshoba Central, should it advance, would have to play at Callaway, New Hope or Oxford in the boys tournament; and Oxford, Center Hill, New Hope or Canton in the girls tournament.

— Jamie Wachter



JUCO BASEBALL

Time change for

MCC opener

    Meridian Community College opens its baseball season today in Panama City, Fla., at the First Pitch Classic. Originally slated for 11 a.m., the game against Central Alabama has now been pushed to a noon start.

    The Eagles will also play Wallace-Hanceville on Saturday and Gulf Coast (Fla.) State on Sunday in the tournament.

— Jamie Wachter



JUCO BASKETBALL

EMCC men win ninth straight at Itawamba

    FULTON — The visiting Lions of East Mississippi Community College won the their ninth straight game and remained unbeaten in division play with a 61-50 road win against Itawamba on Thursday night at the Davis Event Center. 

    The Lions steadily built on their 26-21 halftime lead following intermission, pushing the margin to double figures midway through the second stanza.

    Improving to 12-2 overall and staying perfect at 5-0 within the MACJC’s North Division, the Lions’ 11-point victory marked their eighth consecutive series win against Itawamba dating back to the 2008-09 campaign.

    Featuring balanced scoring on the night, D.J. Evans and Tradarrius McPhearson paced the Lions with 12 points apiece. Transfer forward Colin Borchert followed with 11 points.

    In the opener, the EMCC women dropped a 61-45 decision to Itawamba. The Lions’ offensive struggles continued as they were held within the 40-point range for the second straight contest.

    After battling back from a 24-15 deficit to trim ICC’s advantage to 27-22 by the halftime break, the Lions grabbed an early lead following intermission before incurring a lengthy scoring drought for a large portion of the second half.

    Falling to 5-10 overall and 2-3 within the MACJC’s North Division, EMCC was once again led by the sophomore backcourt tandem of Alvida Clemons and Chadisty Hickman with 16 and 15 points, respectively.

— from school reports



LATE JUCO BASKETBALL

ECCC squads sweep Hinds in division battles

    UTICA — It took double overtime but the East Central Community College Warrior basketball team entered the win column for the first time in 2011-12 by recording a hard-fought 91-86 decision against Hinds Community College on Monday.

    Sophomore guard Glenn Thomas poured in 14 points to lead the Warriors, who notched their first victory following 12 setbacks. ECCC is 1-3 in league play.

    Also scoring in double figures for ECCC were Jimmie Broomfield with 13, LaVadius  Lyles and Newton product Cordarion Nichols with 12 each, Bobby Wrench with 11 and former Newton County star Hakeem Wesley with 10.

     The ECCC women were also victorious in their matchup with the Bulldogs,  holding on for a 77-70 decision to post their second-straight victory in MACJC South Division action.

    Freshman guard Xzandra Dowd  pumped in 22 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to lead the Warriors, who improved to 2-11 overall, but more importantly, 2-2 in division competition.

    Other double digit scorers for the ECCC women were Kelcia Bufkin with 19, Kurlysha Bell with 11 and Ja'Monica Orton with 10.

— from school reports