Meridian Community College dropped a pair of games Thursday evening at Hinds Community College, with the Lady Eagles falling 63-57 and the men losing 67-64 in MACJC basketball action.

The Lady Eagles got off to a fast start, jumping out to an early 8-2, but MCC went cold for the rest of the quarter and trailed 12-11 after one. 

The Lady Eagles jumped back into the lead early in the second, then the two teams went back and forth throughout the frame. Neither team could gain more than a 3-point advantage, and MCC trailed 21-20 at intermission. 

The Lady Eagles struggled throughout much of the third quarter, trailing by as much as eight, but MCC made a late run and was only down 40-36 going into the fourth quarter.

MCC fought throughout the fourth to cut into the deficit, but the Lady Eagles couldn’t quite regain the lead. Despite forcing a turnover with 15 seconds left with the chance to cut it to a 2-point deficit, the Lady Eagles were unable to get a shot off before turning it over. 

The Lady Eagles (9-10) return to action Monday, when they host Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College at 5:30 p.m.

The men’s game was also close, with Hinds managing to come away with a 67-64 win.

Neither team was able to build a big lead in the first half, and Hinds had a 37-35 advantage with under 30 seconds left before halftime when the Bulldogs were fouled on a layup and hit the ensuing free throw to build a 40-35 lead at intermission. 

The Eagles started the second half on a 9-2 run to take a 44-42 lead, but the Bulldogs answered with a run of their own to go up by 10 midway through the half. The Eagles battled back to cut the deficit to 59-57 with 5:30 left, and the Bulldogs stretched it back to a 6-point lead. MCC’s Iverson Smith nailed a 3 to cut it back to 63-60 with 3:55 remaining, and the Eagles were able to cut it to a 1-point game late before the Bulldogs nailed a couple of free throws to put the game away.

The MCC men (7-11) will tip off against Mississippi Gulf Coast at 7:30 p.m. Monday.