#20 East Mississippi CC Nine Better Than East Central
(Feb 3, 2022) Scooba, MS – After back to back conference losses to Pearl River and at Northeast MS CC, the 20th ranked Lions have now won three straight, this time a 74-65 turn down of East Central CC.
The win moves the Lions to 15-4, 8-2, currently tied for second in the MACCC with Northeast, 2 1/2 games behind undefeated Pearl River (11-0).
Playing on the road, the Warriors gave the Lions a run for the money, as the two teams traded punches for the majority of the game. Tied at 27, the Lions scored the last five points of the first half to take a 32-27 lead at the break.
More of the same in the second period, plenty of ties and lead swings, with neither team taking full control. One thing was certain, the Warriors had no intention of caving, instead, the upped the pressure on the favored Lions.
With Lions up by five points, the Warriors drilled three straight three-pointers, one by Christopher Keys and a pair by Damian McKnight. That ignited a 16-5 run ending in a 51-45 ECCC lead at the 11:40 mark.
Needing some offense, two timely Kevin Henry treys and two Traemond Pittman baskets helped slow the East Central momentum. With the score tied at 57-57 and eight minutes remaining in the contest, Jakorie Smith hit a big triple as the shot clock was winding down, putting the Wildcats on top for good.
Seven straight by Smith (including that three) extended the EMCC advantage to five, 64-59. From that point, EMCC was able to pull away and secure the nine point win.
The Lions got a huge performance from Smith, who tortured the Warriors with 28 points (8-16 FG, 2-6 3’s, 10-10 FTs) and fought his way to a career high 16 rebounds. The double-double was Jakorie’s eighteenth of his EMCC career.Traemond Pittman is credited with 17 points on 7 of 11 FG shooting (1 of 3 outside the arc) and 2-2 on free tosses, coupled with five boards and 4 dishes, helping squash the Warriors upset bid.
For the Warriors, Keys finished the night tying for game high, with a career-high 28 points, while James Granger scored 11. Despite the gallant effort, East Central finds itself at 4-12, 2-8, and on the low side of the scoreboard for the seventh straight game.
