Junior College Roundup: East Mississippi men clinch North title

Published 7:00 am Friday, February 12, 2010

    The East Mississippi Community College men’s basketball team clinched its first MACJC North Division title Thursday, downing Mississippi Delta 78-72.

    In clinching the North for the first time since the state subdivided in 1970, the No. 11 Lions also avenged their lone division loss and earned the right to host the state tournament, which begins Feb. 22.

    NJCAA Player of the Week CoCo Ware led EMCC with 17 points, while Terrence Bennett added 16 and John Harris finished with 11 for the Lions, who improved to 20-3 and 9-1 in the North.

    The Lions host Holmes on Monday.

— Jamie Wachter

EMCC women    68

Mississippi Delta    58

    Welcoming back their top two scorers from nagging injuries, the Lions improved their chances of a top-four finish in the North and a berth in the state tournament by toppling Mississippi Delta. Delta is now 7-3 in the North and tied for second, while EMCC improved to 6-4 in the division.

    Former Southeast Lauderdale standout Martika Hull, who missed EMCC’s last game, led the Lions with 25 points — 18 in the first half — and nine rebounds. Natalie Tate, who also missed EMCC’s last game, added 20.

    EMCC (12-11) hosts Holmes on Monday.

— Jamie Wachter

East Central    68

Gulf Coast women    66

    Hannah Lee’s 3-point shot from the top of the key with 11.7 seconds remaining helped propel the Warriors to a stunning win against visiting Mississippi Gulf Coast on Thursday night.

     With the key MACJC South Division victory, EC’s women improved to 12-9 overall and more importantly 4-6 in league action and kept alive their playoff hopes. The Bulldogs dropped to 8-16 and 4-7. The two teams are battling for fourth place in the division. The top four teams advance to the MACJC State Tournament later this month.

     Following Lee’s trey – her third of the evening – teammate Danielle Cole was fouled after taking possession on a Gulf Coast turnover, and the Philadelphia High School product made the first of two free throw attempts with 8.9 seconds remaining, giving EC its margin of victory. However, the game was not secured until Lady Bulldog Kiara Johnson was unsuccessful on her 3-point attempt as time expired.

     Lee, a Leake Academy product from Philadelphia, led EC with 17 points and seven rebounds. Her 3-pointer with 22 seconds left cut the Gulf Coast lead at 65-64. Cole was the second-leading scorer with 16 points and four rebounds.

     Brooke Eccles of McNeill pumped in 25 points to lead Gulf Coast.

     EC trailed 31-27 at halftime.

     ECCC travels to Pearl River on Monday.

 — from school reports

Gulf Coast men    89

East Central     65

    The Warriors fell to 5-16, 1-9 in the South as the visiting Bulldogs rolled Thursday.

    Kenneth Thomas led EC with 23 points. Also in double figures for the Warriors was Steve Edwards of Newton with 14.

    Travis Rasco of Moss Point had 28 points to lead the Bulldogs, who improved to 16-9 and 6-5.

     Gulf Coast led 43-27 at the break.

     ECCC travels to Pearl River on Monday.

— from school reports

JUCO BASEBALL

EMCC’s baseball season debut postponed to Saturday versus MMI

    SCOOBA — Due to expected wintry weather moving into Mississippi, the debut of East Mississippi Community College’s 2010 baseball season has been postponed until Saturday on the Scooba campus. Today’s originally scheduled season opener against Copiah-Lincoln has been pushed back to Sunday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader at EMCC’s refurbished Gerald Poole Field.

     With the revised season-opening baseball slate, head coach Tony Montgomery’s 2010 EMCC Lions will now debut Saturday against Marion Military Institute with a previously scheduled home twinbill set for a 1 p.m. start. Sunday’s home doubleheader versus Copiah-Lincoln is also slated to begin at 1 p.m.

— from school reports

LATE JUCO SOFTBALL

MCC splits season-opening home softball twinbill with Copiah-Lincoln

    SCOOBA — The East Mississippi Community College Lions opened their 2010 softball season by splitting a home doubleheader with two-time defending state champion Copiah-Lincoln Wednesday afternoon on the Scooba campus.  After taking the season opener by a 6-3 tally, EMCC dropped an 11-3 decision to Co-Lin in the nightcap.

     Featuring seven freshmen in the starting lineup, the Lions took the early lead in the opener on Mallory Pace’s two-out, first-inning single that plated DeShuni Sanders. EMCC widened its lead to 5-0 with a four-run fifth inning. Freshman Mercedes Cotton, a former Choctaw Central standout, started the rally with a home run to right-center field off Co-Lin starter Bethany Pinkston. Following Sanders’ run-scoring single, Celeste Fontenot’s booted dribbler down the first baseline brought across a pair of unearned runs.

     After the visiting Lady Wolves cut into EMCC’s lead with a three-run sixth inning, Leigh Ellen Barefield’s run-producing single down the third baseline, in the home half of the sixth, brought home courtesy runner Whitney Sumrall to give the Lions an insurance run and seal the 6-3 victory.

     Nunn gave up six hits, while striking out five and walking four, in going the distance to pick up the win for the Lions in the opener.

     Co-Lin bounced back in the nightcap, taking an early 2-0 in the opening frame. Highlighted by Walker’s bases-clearing double in the fourth inning, the Wolves took a 5-0 lead before EMCC could get on the scoreboard in the second contest.

     While the Lions were putting up solo tallies in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, the visitors were stretching their advantage with multiple runs during each of the final three frames.  After plating three runs in the fourth and two more an inning later, Co-Lin put the contest out of reach with four successive run-scoring hits in the sixth.

     Head coach Kate Neely’s 1-1 East Mississippi softball squad stays at home to entertain Pearl River on Tuesday in a 4 p.m. doubleheader.

— from school reports