Lions fall from the ranks of the unbeaten by dropping 88-69 decision at Shelton State
The East Mississippi Community College men’s basketball team fell from the ranks of the unbeaten by dropping an 88-69 road decision to Shelton State during Monday night’s hoops action played at the Umphrey Center.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The East Mississippi Community College men's basketball team fell from the ranks of the unbeaten by dropping an 88-69 road decision to Shelton State during Monday night's hoops action played at the Umphrey Center.
The visiting Lions trailed virtually the entire contest with the exception of two early ties. An early double-digit (19-9) Shelton State lead doubled by halftime (42-22).
After being down by as many as 22 points (42-20) late in the first half, the EMCC men scored the first nine points of the second stanza to cut the deficit to 11 points. Jordan Alexander's made three-pointer then narrowed the gap to 10 points (44-34), but that's as close as the visitors would get the rest of the game.
The Bucs went on to match their 20-point halftime advantage during the second half before the Lions scored seven unanswered points during a run sparked by another Alexander made trey. Shelton State's lead was trimmed to 11 points (76-65) with four minutes left on the game clock, but EMCC could not manage to get any closer than that en route to the 19-point defeat that halted its season-opening, six-game win streak.
EMCC's Diovion Famakinde notched his second straight 20-point outing by leading all game scorers with 22 points. Alexander finished with 16 points, while DeAndre Lewis approached a double-double with 12 points and eight rebounds for the Lions.
The Shelton State men had five players score in double figures, led by King Larkin's 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Devin Bowers and Rodwick Jackson followed with 13 and 12 points, respectively, as both players made 4-of-5 shots from the field. Bryant Aijero posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds while also making four of his five field goal attempts. Anderson Wilkin chipped in with 10 points as well for the 6-1 Bucs.
Head coach Billy Begley's 6-1 EMCC Lions, who received votes in this week's NJCAA Division I rankings, will venture to Poplar Bluff, Mo., to play three in-season tournament games on successive days during next week's (Nov. 27-29) Bank of Grandin Thanksgiving Classic. After taking on host Three Rivers College on Thanksgiving evening (7 p.m.), East Mississippi will meet Illinois-based Wabash Valley College on Friday (5 p.m.) and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College on Saturday (2 p.m.) at Three Rivers' Libla Family Sports Complex.