Balanced scoring keys EMCC to 84-77 home win over Mississippi Delta
Balanced scoring paced the East Mississippi Community College men’s basketball team to a second straight conference victory with an 84-77 home win over Mississippi Delta during Thursday’s MACCC hoops action played at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.
SCOOBA – Balanced scoring paced the East Mississippi Community College men's basketball team to a second straight conference victory with an 84-77 home win over Mississippi Delta during Thursday's MACCC hoops action played at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.
The contest featured six lead changes and five ties during the opening half of play. After the visiting Trojans jumped out to an early 14-6 lead, Jayden Tatum's back-to-back treys sparked a 12-0 EMCC run that gave the Lions some initial momentum.
Later in the half, the two teams traded baskets for four consecutive lead changes until Antron Mason II keyed a 7-0 Delta rally to give the visitors a 31-25 lead. EMCC's Josh Brown answered with a three-pointer that capped his 11-point, opening-half effort to halt the run with three minutes remaining in the first half.
With the game knotted at 35-35 at the half, the Trojans went up by five points early in the second stanza. Five more lead changes after intermission led to the half's only tie (52-52) with 13 minutes left in the contest. Consecutive baskets by Tatum and Jace O'Neal gave the Lions a late-game lead they would not relinquish, as they went on a 14-4 spurt to build a 10-point advantage (66-56) with eight minutes left.
The Trojans would not go down quietly with Jeremiah Bolton hitting a pair of three-pointers down the stretch to keep the visitors within range. After Delta pulled to within three points (70-67), EMCC's DeAndre Lewis began to take over the game during crunch time. The reigning honorable mention All-MACCC swingman scored nine of his 15 second-half points over the game's last four minutes on his way to scoring a game-high 20 points. He was 8-of-9 from the free throw line during the final stretch to cap an 11-of-12 effort from the charity stripe on the night.
Also scoring in double figures for the Lions were Brown (17), Maurice Henderson (13), Tatum (10) and O'Neal (10). Ace McKinnie added nine points and six rebounds for the winners, who improved to 14-12 overall and 4-6 within the MACCC.
Coach Billy Begley's EMCC Lions (14-12, 4-6 MACCC) have an open game date to begin the week before heading to Goodman to take on the Holmes Bulldogs on Thursday (Feb. 19).
