Following the holiday break from competition, the East Mississippi Community College basketball teams resume action tonight by playing host to Shelton State in a hoops doubleheader. Women’s action is set to tip off at 5:30 p.m., followed by a 7:30 p.m. men’s contest at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.

    Tonight’s nightcap figures to take on added significance for head coach Mark White’s 10-1 men’s squad, as the 19th-ranked EMCC Lions look to avenge their lone loss of the current campaign.  Riding a five-game winning streak, the Lions’ only setback on the year was a 75-67 loss at Shelton State back on Nov. 22. In that road contest, EMCC was outscored 39-25 in the second half by the Buccaneers after giving up a 42-36 halftime lead. Shelton State also outscored EMCC 24-5 from the charity stripe in the initial meeting.

    Having most recently claimed a 93-88 home triumph against Marion Military Institute on Dec. 10, the Lions are 2-0 in MACJC North Division play with league victories against Holmes (79-69) and Northwest Mississippi (82-66) on Dec. 2 and 6, respectively. 

    The EMCC men feature five players scoring in double figures on the year, led by sophomore guard Deonte Alexander. One of two Lion players to have started all 11 games this season, Alexander leads the Lions in scoring (16.7 ppg), steals (2.3 spg) and made 3-pointers (32).

Point guard D.J. Evans is averaging 14.4 points and a team-most 4.8 assists an outing, while sophomore Donovan Walker, of Meridian, follows with 11.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest.      

    In the 2011 opener, head coach Sharon Thompson’s 6-4 EMCC women will be in action for the first time in nearly a month when they entertain the Bucs. Prior to the holiday break, the Lions split a pair of MACJC North Division outings by claiming a 58-49 home triumph against Holmes and dropping a 78-77 decision at Northwest Mississippi.

    Leading the way thus far for the Lions has been freshman guard Chadisty Hickman from Kemper County. The Preston native is averaging a team-high 19.8 points per contest while having tallied between 16 and 24 points in all 10 games on the season. With a pair of double-doubles (points and assists) over her last three outings, Hickman also averages a club-best 4.3 assists per game.

    The EMCC basketball teams resume divisional competition next week by traveling to Northeast Mississippi Community College for a Monday doubleheader.