The East Central Community College Lady Warriors and Warriors closed out the 2018 portion of their basketball seasons with a split against Delgado Community College in doubleheader action Thursday, Dec. 13. The games were played at Dillard University in New Orleans.
The Lady Warriors overcame a slow start in the first period to grab a 63-49 win over the Lady Dolphins. East Central shot only 21 percent from the floor the first 10 minutes and trailed 28-27 after two periods.
With the win, the ECCC Lady Warriors improved to 8-1 on the season. The Delgado Lady Dolphins dropped to 3-10 on the season. East Central also defeated Delgado 74-54 back on Nov. 26 in Decatur.
Freshman guard Jariyah Covington of Starkville led the Lady Warriors with 15 points. Sophomore guard Breanna Riley of Gulfport and sophomore forward Sharan Turner (Gonzales, La., East Ascension) came off the bench to score 13 and 10, respectively.
In the men's action, the Warriors fell 89-85 to Delgado, after beating the Dolphins 96-58 on Nov. 26 in Decatur. It was the third straight loss for East Central after opening the season 6-0. Delgado improved to 3-9.
Freshman forward JaQuarius Smith out of Noxubee County led East Central with a career-high 27 points. He also pulled down eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Roti Ware of Morton scored right at his season average with 25 points in a losing effort. Freshman guard Nick Preyer (Mobile, Ala., Leflore) was the only other Warrior in double digits with 20.
East Central outrebounded Delgado 42-30, but committed 23 turnovers in the contest to just 12 for the Dolphins.
The ECCC Warriors and Lady Warriors return to action Jan. 8 when they travel to Scooba to face East Mississippi in games at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The next home action is Thursday, Jan. 10, when Pearl River visits Brackeen-Wood Gym in Decatur for games also at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.