DeAndre Lewis becomes third EMCC player this season to earn weekly conference hoops honor
Sophomore swingman DeAndre Lewis has become the third East Mississippi Community College player this season to earn MACCC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week honors. The announcement was made Tuesday by the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference as voted on by the league’s sports information directors.
JACKSON – Sophomore swingman DeAndre Lewis has become the third East Mississippi Community College player this season to earn MACCC Men's Basketball Player of the Week honors. The announcement was made Tuesday by the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference as voted on by the league's sports information directors.
Lewis, a product of Class 5A basketball powerhouse Canton High School, averaged 24.5 points and 9.5 rebounds during last week's EMCC games versus nationally ranked Jones College and Southwest Mississippi. For the week, he shot 47 percent (15-32 FGs) overall from the field, 58 percent (7-12 treys) from behind the three-point arc and 71 percent (12-17 FTs) from the charity stripe.
Lewis began last week recording his third double-double of the season with a game-high 27 points (3-7 treys & 8-13 FTs) and 11 rebounds against the Jones Bobcats in Ellisville. He then capped the week by approaching another double-double with a team-high 22 points (7-12 FGs, 4-5 treys & 4-4 FTs) and eight rebounds during EMCC's 83-56 home win over Southwest Mississippi.
Rated 34th nationally on the initial JucoRecruiting.com Top 100 Player Rankings among this year's class of junior college men's basketball players, Lewis has joined EMCC teammates Diovion Famakinde and Jordan Alexander as recipients of the MACCC's Player of the Week honor this season.
On the season, Lewis ranks as the Lions' third-leading scorer at 15.8 points per game overall and 16.7 points in conference action. The 6-foot-5, 185-pound guard/forward is also EMCC's second-leading rebounder with an average of 5.8 boards per contest for the year. In addition, Lewis is currently shooting 48 percent overall from the field, 44 percent from three-point range and 74 percent from the free throw line.
As an EMCC freshman, Lewis garnered All-MACCC honorable mention recognition after emerging during conference play a season ago. Along with averaging a team-best 16.7 points per MACCC contest last year, he shot 46 percent overall from the floor, 42 percent from beyond the arc and 78 percent from the charity stripe during league competition.
Looking to rebound from their tough 97-94 overtime road setback at Hinds earlier this week, head coach Billy Begley's EMCC Lions (12-11, 2-5 MACCC) will play host to Mississippi Gulf Coast on Thursday (Feb. 5). A 5:30 p.m. women's game will be followed by a 7:30 p.m. men's contest at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus.