The East Central Community College basketball teams made the short drive to Scooba Thursday, Nov. 14, and were swept by the homestanding East Mississippi Community College teams in MACJC non-division action.
The EMCC Lady Lions won the opener 73-57, while the East Central men fell 88-85 to the Lions.
The Lady Lions blew open a close game with a big second period. EMCC led the ECCC Lady Warriors 17-16 after 10 minutes of play, before the Lady Lions went on a 21-6 run to take a 38-22 halftime lead and control of the game.
With the win, the EMCC Lady Lions remained undefeated at 4-0. The East Central Lady Warriors fell to 1-1.
Ten Lady Warriors scored in the loss, led by sophomore guard Mylisha Hammond (McComb) with 14. Sophomore guard Jariyah Covington (Starkville) was the only other East Central player in double figures with 11.
The EMCC Lions controlled the first half of the men's game, taking a 47-32 lead into the locker room. The Warriors would chip away at the lead in the second half, cutting it to two points, 87-85, with three seconds to play before falling by the final three-point margin.
The Warriors fell to 1-2 on the season, while the defending state champion Lions improved to 3-0.
East Central was led in scoring by four players in double figures. Freshman forward JaMichael Wilson (Rayville, La.) scored a career-high 26 points, while sophomore forward JaQuarius Smith (Noxubee County) scored 25. Freshman guard Kareem Thompson (Florence, Ala.) added 19 points and a team-high seven rebounds, and sophomore guard Nick Preyer (Mobile, Ala., LeFlore) scored 11.
The East Central teams will travel to Goodman on Monday, Nov. 18, to face Holmes at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. The Lady Warriors will play No. 9 ranked Chipola Community College in Marianna, Fla., on Friday, Nov. 22. Tipoff is 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 Taylor Made Basketball on Nov. 25 and Faith Prep on Nov. 26, both 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.