The East Central Community College men's basketball team wrapped up the 2021-22 season on Monday with a strong effort against the Northeast Tigers in Booneville. The contest was the first round of the NJCAA Region 23 tournament, which ECCC qualified for by defeating Co-Lin in the play-in round over the weekend. The Warriors, the No. 18 seed in the tournament, gave the No. 2 seeded Tigers a run for their money on their home floor, but ultimately fell, 75-65. The Warriors close out the year 5-17, 2-12. The Tigers advance to the second round of the tournament. The semifinals and finals will be played on the campus of Mississippi College later this week in Clinton.
The Warriors were duking it out with the higher-seeded Tigers in the first half with stellar shooting and lots of hustle on both ends of the floor. The hard-nosed effort was reflected on the scoreboard as the Warriors took a one-point, 18-19, lead midway through the half after Christopher Keys capitalized on a David Berry steal with a layup. The teams went back and forth for several minutes before a Matthew Mackey three-pointer and quick steal and layup from James Granger sparked a five-point swing in the Warriors' favor, 25-20, with just seven minutes remaining in the first frame. The Warriors held on to that lead until the final minute when a NEMCC three-pointer from Hobert Grayson put the Tigers back on top by two, 34-32. At the half, the Tigers had pushed the lead to three, 36-33.
Northeast grew that lead to six in the early goings of the second half to put a buffer between the Tigers and Warriors. Five minutes into the second half a 7-0 Tiger run put the Warriors down by 10, 51-41. The Warriors clawed back into the game as every player gave it their all on both ends of the floor. A Berry three-pointer followed by back-to-back baskets from Keys pulled the Warriors within three, 55-52 with just 10 and a half minutes remaining in the contest. However, the Tigers were able to escape the late-game push and hang on to the 75-65 victory.
Keys led the Warriors in the scoring column with 22 points on 6-of-16 shooting and an impressive 9-of-11 from the free-throw stripe. Granger followed with 10 points after netting 4-of-4 free-throw tries. Damian McKnight led ECCC on the glass with eight rebounds, while Granger dished a team-best six assists. The Warriors were outrebounded 40-31 but posted nine more steals than the Tigers.