SCOOBA – East Mississippi Community College’s 2024-25 men’s and women’s basketball seasons are set to tip off this week on the road. The EMCC men will travel to Indiana for a pair of games in the Vincennes University-hosted Kiwanis Classic, while the Lady Lions will head to Poplarville for neutral-site contests on Friday and Saturday on the Pearl River Community Classic campus.

Featuring 13 newcomers on their 14-man roster, head men’s basketball coach Billy Begley’s EMCC Lions will open the season by taking on preseason 18th-ranked Vincennes in opening-round tournament action at 6 p.m. Friday before meeting Olney Central at 4 p.m. Saturday.

EMCC head women’s basketball coach Isaiah Butler’s Lady Lions will begin the new season this week in Poplarville with games against Andrew College and Enterprise State at 5:30 p.m. Friday and noon on Saturday, respectively.

The EMCC men will continue in tournament mode the following week at the Northeast Mississippi-hosted Bonner Arnold Classic in Booneville by playing Alabama-based Reid State Technical College on Friday and Wallace-Selma on Saturday.

EMCC’s home basketball slate for both teams tips off with Tuscaloosa-based Shelton State and Birmingham-based Lawson State on Nov. 11 and 14, respectively. Both playing dates will include 5:30 p.m. women’s games followed by 7:30 p.m. men’s contests at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus.

The Lions will then play on the road for the remainder of November by traveling to Lawson State and Jones College prior to meeting Southern-Shreveport in a neutral-site contest to be played Nov. 23 on the PRCC campus in Poplarville.

With the EMCC men’s team returning only Donovan Griffin from last year’s 16-14 squad that earned a sixth consecutive NJCAA Region 23 Tournament appearance and a third straight No. 4 postseason tourney seeding, the 2024-25 Lions feature a new-look collection consisting of one university transfer, four junior college transfers and eight incoming freshmen from the high school ranks.

The five-man transfer group is comprised of Yamari Allette, Nate Pruitt and Jonathan Baker, Israel Griffin, and Brian Kitenge.

The 2024-25 Lions are expected to be powered by 2023-24 Jackson Clarion-Ledger Preseason Dandy Dozen pick DeAndre Lewis, out of reigning MHSAA Class 5A state champion Canton High School, along with highly-recruited South Carolina native Jermaurhiyun Anderson, from Quality Education Academy in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

EMCC’s additional newcomers from the prep ranks are Keymarius Lewis, Josh Brown, Curly Robinson, Jackson Redmond, Omari Glenn, and Kaleb Hutchins.

The Lady Lions will face an early test by traveling to preseason second-ranked Northwest Florida State in Niceville, Nov. 6, before tipping off their home slate against preseason ninth-ranked Shelton State and Lawson State on Nov. 11 and 14, respectively.

EMCC’s women will then close out the month of November with a road rematch against Lawson State in Birmingham prior to neutral-site contests versus Calhoun and Chipola, Nov. 21-22, at the Northeast Mississippi Thanksgiving Classic in Booneville.

The 2024-25 Lady Lions welcome back four players from last year’s 4-24 team, including returning starters Kennedi McCray (7.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg and 4.1 apg), from Hoover High School in Alabama, Oak Grove High School product Shalea Boddie (6.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg and 2.0 apg), and Starkville’s JeNiecia Hill (2.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg and 0.9 apg). EMCC’s other returner is Kamaria Patrick, out of Meridian’s Clarkdale High School.

The EMCC women are counting on immediate contributions from transfers Leah Wilcher and Kennedi Wagner, who both gained valuable MACCC experience a year ago despite seeing limited action as freshmen at Pearl River and Coahoma, respectively.

The Lady Lions will also feature plenty of youth on this year’s squad with the addition of eight incoming freshmen. The newcomer group is comprised of Ty’Asiah Bohannon, Aniya Hudson, Dukiaha Jones, Raegan Jordan, La’dymein Lafayette, Zantasheia Mallett, Micaiah Satcher, and Zarria Shipp.