JuCo basketball: Autumn Taylor, ECCC edge EMCC 72-69

Published 11:12 pm Tuesday, January 10, 2017

SCOOBA — Former Newton High School standout Autumn Taylor scored a career-high 32 points and grabbed 13 rebounds Tuesday evening to lead East Central Community to a 72-69 win over East Mississippi Community College. 

Taylor scored 16 points in the fast half and another 16 in the second half to lead all shooters in scoring. Taylor, a freshman, said afterward that she’s still adjusting to the speed of the college game. And with Tuesday’s double-digit scoring output being her eighth in as many games, the results confirm her observation.

The forward entered Tuesday averaging 17.4 points per contest.

“It was rough at first, but once I worked with my teammates, it got easier along the way,” Taylor said. “It feels good to get 32 (points) because I’m not used to it, but I guess it’s hard work, and it makes me strive to want to score more than 32 every game.”

The win moves East Central to 6-4 on the season, and drops East Mississippi to 6-4.

Quantesha Patterson and Anissa May combined to score 26 of East Mississippi’s 41 first-half points, as Patterson collected 14 points while May assisted with 12 points to give the Lady Lions a 41-34 lead at intermission.

“Defensively, we didn’t get the stops and stuff that we worked on,” Lady Lions head coach Sharon Thompson said. “We knew they were going to take advantage of us on defense, and we didn’t get the stops that we needed to get. We can’t give up 72 points a game.”

Taylor netted a team-high 16 first-half points, as the Lady Warriors watched a 25-21 first-quarter lead dissipate to trail at the half. She also added four rebounds and two steals in the first two quarters of play, which included seven lead changes between the two squads.

The Lady Warriors clawed back in the third quarter in position to retake their squandered lead.

Curtisha Coleman drained two free throws with 36 seconds left in the third quarter to tie the score at 59, and Taylor drew a foul and sank both of her free-throw shots to give the Lady Warriors a 61-59 lead with three seconds remaining. East Mississippi’s Robrieka Fann pushed the Lady Lions ahead 62-61 with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to close the third quarter.

After again tying the score at 66 with 5:42 remaining in the contest, East Central head coach Crandal Porter called a timeout to rally his players. Taylor responded with a layup following the break, which gave the Lady Warriors a 68-66 lead. Kaylin McCree, who played for Newton County High School, followed with a jumper with 3:21 in the fourth to give East Central a 70-60 lead before Lady Lions head coach Sharon Thompson called a timeout. An East Mississippi turnover resulted in a bucket by Coleman, making the score 72-66 with 2:24 left in the game, setting the stage for the victory.

“(Autumn) is a very humble kid, but she’s adjusting to JUCO very well,” Porter said. “She hasn’t missed a stride. We wanted to get the ball to her and get her going to the basket, because that’s been good to us all night. You have to give East Mississippi a lot of credit; Coach Thompson does a very good job. It’s a rivalry game — both teams wanted to win. It’s good for us to get the win.”

Laneisha Jeans finished with 13 points for the Lady Warriors, and Coleman ended with 12.

May led East Mississippi in scoring with 22 points and seven rebounds, and Patterson added 14 points and seven rebounds. 

ECCC MEN 82, EMCC MEN 80

Behind a 13-point effort, former Neshoba Central High School Rocket C.J. Ruffin powered East Central to a 82-80 victory over the Lions in the nightcap portion of Tuesday’s Lions-Warriors tilt. 

The Lions and Warriors jostled through a competitive first half that featured five ties, four lead changes and saw East Central hold a six-point lead before the Lions stormed back to lead by five points with 2:53 remaining in the first period to give them a 39-37 lead at halftime. 

East Central (5-5) outscored East Mississippi (5-5) 45-41 in the second half to preserve the win. 

Quitman High School alumnus Anterio McKines paced the Lions with 19 points. Mitch Storm contributed 16, Josh Skinner added 12 and Reggie Turnage rounded out East Mississippi’s double-digit scorers with 10.

East Central’s Shaquille Benson ended the evening with 11 points.