Mark's team is 14-2!!!!!
SCOOBA – The Lions of East Mississippi claimed their sixth straight win and improved to 14-2 on the season with a convincing 107-62 home triumph over Bevill State Wednesday evening at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus.
Hitting seven of his first eight shot attempts, including four of his first five tries from beyond the arc, preseason NJCAA All-American CoCo Ware’s 22 first-half points helped stake head coach Mark White’s Lions to a 47-34 halftime advantage. EMCC went up by as many as 21 points (44-23) with three minutes left in the half, before the visiting Bears scored eight of the final 10 points of the opening period to cut the deficit to 13 points by the break.
With another 3-pointer and a lay-in basket following a steal, Ware helped spark the home team to a 7-0 run to begin the second stanza and quickly bump the margin back up to 20 points (54-34). The former Starkville High School standout later connected on his sixth and final trey of the contest to reach the 30-point mark three minutes into the second half. Despite missing five of his last six field-goal attempts on the night, Ware finished as the game’s top scorer with 32 points for his third career 30-point effort. He tallied a career-high 38 points in EMCC’s 99-58 home win over Marion Military Institute back on Dec. 5.
With all 11 available players entering the scoring column, reserve freshman Richard Dixon converted inside on a feed from Deshario Gates of Houston with 1:50 remaining to put the home-standing Lions over the century mark. Sophomore Terence Bennett of Jackson added a dozen points in the 45-point victory, while freshmen Donovan Walker of Meridian and Joe McCoy of Raymond followed with 10 points apiece.
Falling to 6-8 on the season, Bevill State was led by Brian Smith’s 15 points. Richard Nasseri and Terry Randle also scored in double digits with 14 and 12 points, respectively.
Currently receiving votes in the NJCAA Division I poll and ranked among the nation’s team leaders in scoring defense, EMCC has limited its last half-dozen opponents to an average of just 57.2 points per game during the team’s current six-game winning streak. Dating back to their 41-point win over MMI, the Lions have also since knocked off Coahoma by 26 points (89-63) and Meridian on the road by 33 points (78-45). Atop the MACJC’s North Division standings with a 3-0 league mark on the year, EMCC opened this week by earning a 54-51 home win over defending divisional champions Itawamba Monday night.
The East Mississippi basketball teams resume divisional play next week by taking on Mississippi Delta Monday (Jan. 18) in Moorhead and then traveling to Goodman to meet Holmes on Thursday (Jan. 21). Next home action for the EMCC squads will be Monday, Jan. 25 against Northeast Mississippi, with game times set for 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. at Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus.
Praying with Matthew and Mary Oliver
7 years ago
