The East Central Community College basketball teams dropped a pair of MACJC South Division contests to the undefeated teams from Mississippi Gulf Coast Monday, Dec. 9, in the Weathers-Wentzell Center on the Gulf Coast campus in Perkinston.
The Gulf Coast Lady Bulldogs won the opener 52-44, while the Gulf Coast Bulldogs took the men's game 102-90.
In the low-scoring women's contest, the East Central Lady Warriors led 17-9 after one quarter of play. An 11-3 run by Gulf Coast in the second quarter tied the game at 20. The Lady Warriors managed to take a 23-22 lead into the locker room after scoring just five points in the quarter. The game remained close until the fourth quarter when Gulf Coast went on an 11-5 run and took a 10-point lead and control of the game.
No Lady Warrior was able to get in double digits in scoring. Sophomore guard Jariyah Covington (Starkville) scored nine for East Central and sophomore forward Jamaica Almons (Jackson, Murrah) had eight.
The ECCC Lady Warriors are now 4-5 overall on the season and 0-1 in MACJC South Division play, while the Lady Bulldogs are 9-0 and 1-0.
The men's affair saw a combined 29 three-pointers, with the East Central Warriors hitting 17 shots from beyond the three-point line. East Central actually led 51-48 at the half before the Bulldogs opened the final 20 minutes of play on a 16-4 run to seize control of the basketball game. The difference in the game was at the free throw line, where Gulf Coast hit 20 of 28 shots to only 10 of 14 for East Central.
Warrior freshman guard Kareem Thompson (Florence, Ala.) poured in a game-high 31 points to lead East Central, with 21 of those coming in the first half. Freshman guard Landyn Shows (Petal) added 12 points on four three-pointers.
The ECCC Warriors fell to 4-5 overall and 0-1 in the MACJC South Division. The Gulf Coast Bulldogs improved to 8-0 and 1-0.
The final action before the holiday break will take place Tuesday, Dec. 17, when Delgado (New Orleans, La.) visits Brackeen-Wood Gym for games at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.