SCOOBA – Preseason All-American CoCo Ware of East Mississippi Community College has been named the NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week ending Feb. 7, as announced Wednesday by the NJCAA office headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo.

     A former standout at Starkville High School, Ware averaged 27.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals last week in helping lead head coach Mark White’s 11th-ranked EMCC Lions to convincing MACJC North Division road wins over Coahoma (93-67) and defending divisional champion Itawamba (83-61).  In addition, Ware’s shooting percentages for the week were 47 percent (17-of-36) from the field overall, 41 percent (7-of-17) from beyond the arc and 93 percent (14-of-15) from the line.

     A 6-foot-1, 170-pound sophomore guard, Ware opened last week by scoring 25 of his game-high 30 points in the second half, while adding a career-high 15 rebounds, at Coahoma to register his fifth career double-double.  Along with handing out three assists against the Tigers, he connected on 13-of-14 from the charity stripe.  Later in the week in Fulton, Ware nailed 6-of-11 from three-point range during his 25-point road outing against Itawamba.  He also added four rebounds, three steals and two assists at ICC.

     On the season, the reigning NJCAA All-Region 23 selection ranks 31st nationally in scoring average at 19.8 points an outing, while rating 29th in steals with 2.7 swipes per contest.  He also stands second among team leaders in rebounds (6.3 rpg) and assists (2.1 apg) for the year. 

    Entering Thursday’s home contest against Mississippi Delta just 28 points shy of the coveted 1,000-point mark for his two-year EMCC career, Ware is averaging 23.3 points over his last dozen contests in pacing the 19-3 Lions to an 11-1 mark during that span.

     The Ware-led EMCC Lions tip off a two-game homestand Thursday by playing host to Mississippi Delta on the Scooba campus. 

    Men’s action is slated to commence at 7:30 p.m., following the 5:30 p.m. women’s contest at EMCC’s Keyes T. Currie Coliseum. 

    A victory by the Lions over Delta would secure the school’s first-ever MACJC North Division men’s basketball championship and earn EMCC the honor of hosting the upcoming 2010 MACJC State Basketball Tournament, Feb. 22-25. 

    The East Mississippi basketball teams will conclude their regular-season home slate by welcoming Holmes to the Scooba campus for “Sophomore Night” on Monday, Feb. 15. 

    With game times set for 5:30 and 7:30 p.m., Lady Lion fans are asked to wear pink to the EMCC-Holmes women’s game Monday in support of the WBCA Pink Zone initiative to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond.