Just three days after being swept on the road at East Mississippi, the East Central Community College men's and women's basketball teams responded with a road sweep over Holmes Community College Monday, Nov. 18, in Goodman.
The MACJC non-division games were played at the Frank Branch Coliseum on the Holmes campus.
The ECCC Lady Warriors won the opener 83-59. The Warriors came out on top in the second game of the evening 87-75.
The Lady Warriors outscored Holmes 30-8 in the fourth period, including a 28-3 run, to break open a two-point game in earning the win. East Central led by three after one period and by five, 32-27, at the half. East Central hit 15 of its 17 free throw attempts the contest.
All 15 Lady Warriors saw action in the win, with three scoring in double figures. Sophomore forward KeiMoya Walker (Jackson, Murrah) led the way with 15 points. Sophomore guard Jariyah Covington (Starkville) and freshman forward Asia Madison (Hazlehurst) scored 10 each. Covington had a game-high seven assists. Sophomore center Kimberly Green (Greenwood, Amanda Elzy) led the Lady Warriors with seven rebounds.
With the win, the Lady Warriors improve to 2-1 on the season. The Holmes Lady Bulldogs fall to 1-4.
In the men's action, East Central used a 17-2 first-half run to build a 45-33 halftime lead. The Warriors extended that lead to as many as 17 points, 50-33, in the second half before earning the 12-point win. The difference in the game was three-point shots, where East Central hit 11 of 26 from beyond the three-point line while, Holmes was just 5 of 23.
Sophomore forward JaQuarius Smith (Noxubee County) continued his hot start to the season with game-highs of 26 points and 12 rebounds. He also had seven assists and two blocks. He is averaging 23.5 points through four games this season. Freshman guard Lee Cotton (Cleveland Central) had a career-high 21 points, while freshman guard Kareem Thompson (Florence, Ala.) scored 17 points and dished out eight assists and freshman guard JaMichael Wilson (Rayville, La.) added 16 points.
The ECCC Warriors are now 2-2 on the season. Holmes drops to 2-3.
The Lady Warriors will next play No. 12 ranked Chipola Community College in Marianna, Fla., on Friday, Nov. 22. Tipoff is at 5 p.m.
The EC Classic is during the Thanksgiving holiday week again this year. The East Central women will play LSU-Eunice on Monday, Nov. 25, and Coahoma on Tuesday, Nov. 26, both at 1 p.m. The ECCC men will face Faith Prep on Nov. 26 at 7 p.m.
Also competing in the EC Classic on the women's side is Meridian Community College. The other men's teams include Pearl River, Jones College, and Bevill State (Ala.). All EC Classic games are in Brackeen-Wood Gym on the campus in Decatur.