MCC baseball to play annual Green & White game

The Meridian Community College baseball program will play its annual Green and White baseball game on Saturday, February 3rd at Scaggs Field. The game, which will feature a relaxed atmosphere where the players will be made accessible to all spectators, is scheduled to begin at 11:00 AM. Players will also be available before and after the game to meet with fans. MCC baseball posters, schedules and other gear will be presented to fans at the Green & White game.

MCC’s opens the 2007 season when they play host to Lurleen B. Wallace Community College of Andalusia, AL on Saturday, February 10 v. at Scaggs Field.

For more information on the annual Green & White event, please contact MCC head baseball coach, Chris Rose at (601) 484-8670.

MCC's Allen get 300th victory with win over Gulf Coast, MCC men lose close game

MCC women 77
Gulf Coast 47

The MCC women’s team hadn’t won a home game since December 9 and with back-to-back home game scheduled, they looked to break that trend Monday night v. Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

In the first seven minutes of the game, it looked like the Lady Eagles were in jeopardy of losing their third straight home game as Gulf Coast took an early lead, but at the 10:24 mark, MCC tied it up at 14-14.

From that point on, the Lady Eagles never trailed.

MCC took a 36-28 lead into the locker room at half.

MCC held a 47-36 lead with 15:30 left in the game, then went on a 30-11 run to end the game with a comfortable 30 point victory to earn their first home win since Dec. 9th v. Coahoma CC.

But the story of the evening for the Lady Eagles wasn’t getting that monkey of their back, but it was all about their head coach, Hilary Allen.

Allen came into tonight’s ball game with 299 career victories and after his Lady Eagles cruised to an easy victory, he celebrated his 300 career win on what would have been his mothers 82nd birthday.

“It was a special evening that’s for sure,” said Allen following the emotional win.

“I’ve been thinking about this all day long and it just feels really good to win tonight.”

Allen’s wife, Celia has been assisting Hilary for most of his career and has been by his side for 250 of the 300 wins.

“Usually my brothers and I talk to each other on the phone today, I wanted to wait until after the game to make that call, it’ll be a special one.”

NaDosha Strickland led MCC with 21 points. Jenifer Wair had 16, Hilal Yildrim and Holly Dial each had 9.

Carrie Dawson led Gulf Coast with 13 points. MCC women improved to 11-7, 4-3 on the season, while Gulf Coast fell to 6-12, 1-6.

MCC plays host to Hinds Thursday night at home, while Gulf Coast host SW Mississippi CC.

MCC men 96
Gulf Coast 99

To call it David v. Goliath would be a bit of an overstatement, but to call the MCC men’s team a heavy underdog against the top team in the MACJC South Division would seem fitting.

The MCC men came into Monday night’s game with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College having lost 11 of their last 12 ballgames and in a tie for last in the south division. Meanwhile Gulf Coast came in having won 7 of their last 8 ballgames and in a tie for first in the south division.

Early on it seemed that the teams would play their rolls well, as Gulf Coast, the favorite, managed a lead, but MCC took a one-point with 10:28 in the first half after a made basket from Regis Huddleston.

Gulf Coast would eventually tie the ballgame at 28-28 with 8:13 left in the first half. From that point on, the visiting Bulldogs ran to a ten point lead at the half, 47-37 over MCC.

Not only did the Eagles lose the lead in the first half, Santez Johnson, one of their post players, went down with a severe ankle injury in the first half. Johnson would be out of the reminder of the game and by doing so, left an already depleted MCC bench even thinner facing a 10 point deficit to the first place team in the division.

Gulf Cost was seemingly in control of the entire second half as MCC would get down by double digits then fight their way back to within 8 or 9 only to fall back again.

But at the 10:00 in the second half and Gulf Coast up 68-55, MCC sophomore Michael Strickland hit back-to-back-to-back three pointers to get MCC back within 4 points, at 68-64 with 9:16 left in the ballgame.

“I thought Michael played well and when we needed it,” MCC head men’s basketball coach George Brooks said after the game.

“Michael played like a sophomore should play.”

The quick 9-0 run by MCC forced Gulf Coast to take a timeout. Following that timeout, Gulf Coast hit back-to-back-to-back three pointers of their own as Henry Salter made two three pointers and Luther Suggs pitched in with one three pointer for the Bulldogs. That made the game a 13 point game once again with Gulf Coast on top 77-64.

“After we go on that run and then they answer right back with those threes- that was ballgame right there,” said Brooks.

“If we survive that run and don’t give up those threes I thought that we could’ve won the game.”

Gulf Coast would stretch it out to an 83-66 lead with just 4:58 left in the game, but MCC wasn’t done yet.

After going on a run themselves, the Eagles got two points from Michael Strickland on a put back and MCC found themselves within striking distance at 87-80 with 2:20 reaming.

Gulf Coast hit most of their free throws down the stretch and forced MCC to make a three point shot with: 13 remaining, and the Eagles missed and Gulf Coast survived a scare.

MCC was led by Maurice Naylor with 21 points. Chris Leggett and Michael Strickland both had 19 points. Dexter Leflore had 12 and Regis Huddleston had 11.

Gulf Coast was led by Carlos Wright with 27 points and Henry Salter with 24 points.

MCC men fell to 4-11, 1-6 on the season, while Gulf Coast improved to 13-5, 6-1.

MCC plays host to Hinds Thursday night at home, while Gulf Coast host SW Mississippi CC

McCrary inks with MCC Golf

(MERIDIAN)- Meridian Community College golf coach, Sean Covich, has announced the second commitment from his 2007 recruiting class.

Taylor McCrary of Oak Grove High School signed a national letter of intent to play for Covich and the MCC golf team in the fall of 2007. The signing took place on the Oak Grove High School campus Wednesday morning.

McCrary has been Oak Grove’s golf team captain as both a junior and senior. In 2006, McCrary won four medalist titles including the MHSAA District VI- Region 3-5A championship at Shadow Ridge in Hattiesburg. Last summer, McCrary finished in the top five at the Big “I” Mississippi State Championship shooting 75-73 at the MSU Golf Course.

“It is a real honor to play for the MCC golf team,” said McCrary. “They have a great tradition and I look forward to playing for a championship program.”

In 2005 McCrary was the MHSAA District VI- Region 3-5A runner-up medalist, shooting a 74 at Clear Creek CC in Vicksburg. That summer, McCrary was invited to play in the Mississippi Junior Cup Matches as a member of the South Team.

“Taylor is a great student who will undoubtedly have success in the classroom and on the golf course. He comes to MCC with sound fundaments in the golf swing,” said Covich.

“As accomplished as Taylor is in his career, the good news is- he hasn’t played his best golf yet. He will do nothing but become a better player over the next few years and I am excited to see how much he develops his game while at MCC.”

A native of Hattiesburg, McCrary has taken golf lessons under renowned instructor, V.J. Trolio of Old Waverly, PGA Professional Russ Fransted and former USM golf coach, Sam Hall. Taylor is member of Heritage United Methodist Church and is the son of Mike and Carol McCrary.

MCC men’s golf team is currently ranked 4th in the NJCAA men’s golf poll (Div. II). The Eagles are coming off a record year in 2006 when they captured 6 tournament titles, including the MACJC State/Region XXIII Championship and a 3rd place finish in the NJCAA National Championship.

MCC Tennis Inks Four, Two Local Players

(MERIDIAN) - Meridian Community College's head tennis head coach Wanda McPhail signed four tennis players to her men's and women's squads on Wednesday, January 24.

Elliot Clark of West Lauderdale High School joined Kelly Sterling of Meridian High School as two local players that are inked with MCC.

Kalan Anderson of Simpson Academy and Ashton Hartley of Clinton High School also signed with the Eagles.

"We are really excited to have this group join us this upcoming season," said Coach Wanda McPhail. "This is by far the largest and best signing class to commit this early since I've been here."

Clark comes to MCC by way of West Lauderdale High School, where he has been a member of the varsity tennis team since 9th grade. He won the Gold medal in the 2004 State Games of Mississippi in the Boys 16's division and in 2006 he captured the Bronze medal in the Boys 16's. As of December 2006, Clark was ranked #21 in the state. He is the son of Drs. Robert E. "Bobby" and Cherry Clark.

Sterling comes to MCC from Meridian High School, were she played varsity tennis for the Wildcats since 7th grade. In those seasons she finished either first or second in the district, made it to the state tournament and played in the 2004 MHSAA 5A State Finals. She is a six time gold medalist in the State Games of Mississippi. She was also a member of the varsity girls soccer team at MHS and was a member of the FCA, National Honor Society, Anchor Club and received the 2006 Scholar Athlete Award. She is the daughter of Mike and Nancy Sterling.

Anderson comes to MCC by way of Simpson Academy in Mendenhall. She won the 2005 District and State Championships in mixed doubles while playing for Newton County High School. In 2005 she was named most improved tennis player for her varsity team. She is a five time Honor Roll student, awarded the Girls State Leadership Award in 2004 and named Miss Simpson Country Academy 2006-2007. She is the daughter of Reverend Rodney and Julene Anderson.

Hartley comes to MCC by way of Clinton High School where she has played varsity tennis since 9th grade. She finished the 2005 season ranked #2 in the state in Girls 18's and #1 in doubles. She is currently ranked no. 126 in Southerns. She received the MVP award for years in a row at Clinton. In 2005 she received the George Wilkinson Award given by the Mississippi Tennis Association. She is also a member of the Clinton cross country and cheerleading teams. She was awarded both the Cheerleading Leadership Award and Coach's Award (cheerleading). She has volunteered for Hurricane Katrina Relief, Relay For Life and Vacation Bible School. She is the daughter of Ricky and Lynn Hartley.

MCC drops division pair at Southwest

from staff reports
The Meridian Star
Rocky Higginbotham

Southwest 84
MCC women 79

Meridian Community College dropped a pair of South Division basketball contests at Southwest Mississippi Thursday night, including an 84-79 decision in the women’s game.

The Lady Eagles, who fell to 10-7 overall and 3-3 in division action, trailed 38-34 at halftime and lost despite 20 points from freshman NaDosha Strickland of Bay Springs.

Carla Latham added 19 points and Anesia McBride scored 17 for MCC, while Jennifer Wair chipped in 10.

Southwest, which has identical records of 10-7 and 3-3, got a game-high 22 points from Conceita Cutrer.MCC is at home Monday against Gulf Coast.

Southwest 85
MCC men 75

The Eagles fell to 4-13 overall and 1-5 in South Division with a 10-point setback at Summit.

MCC, which returns home Monday to face Gulf Coast, trailed just 35-33 at halftime.

Dexter Leflore led the Eagles with 25 points, while freshman Regis Huddleston of Bay Springs scored 15 and former Meridian standout Maurice Naylor added 14.

Aubrey Coleman scored 25 points to lead Southwest’s Bears, who improved to 5-12 and 2-4 in league play.

Lady Eagles take easy victory

from staff reports
The Meridian Star

MCC women 71
Pearl River 56

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles raced out to an early lead and were never challenged in defeating Pearl River 71-56 on the road Monday night.

The Lady Eagles jumped out to a 28-14 lead early and led 42-27 at the halftime break.

With the win, MCC improved their record to 12-8 overall and 3-2 in the South Division.

Jennifer Wair led the Lady Eagles with 18 points and an amazing 21 rebounds while NaDosha Strickland also scored 18 and corralled 10 boards. Hilal Yildirim chipped in with 10 points in the win.

MCC will return to action Thursday when they travel to face Southwest Communicy College.

Pearl River 89
Meridian men 73

The Eagles didn’t fare as well as their female counterparts, falling to Pearl River by 16 points.

The game was tied 40-40 at halftime, but Pearl River outscored MCC 49-33 in the second half.

Meridian fell to 4-12 overall and 1-4 in division play with the loss.

The Eagles were led by Santez Johnson with 21 points while Dexter LeFlore scored 14 and Chris Leggett chipped in 11.

Pearl River got 32 points from Wesley Jones to key their victory.

Eagles fall to Co-Lin

By Jeff Edwards / assistant sports editor
The Meridian Star

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles hoped to use their upset victory over 18th-ranked Jones Junior College to springboard their way back into the South Division race. However, a bad start to each half against Copiah-Lincoln Thursday evening stymied any chance of a victory and sent the Lady Eagles back to a .500 record in the division with an 88-75 loss.

“I had hoped the team would come out strong and we didn’t do that,” Lady Eagles coach Hilary Allen said. “It’s discouraging to not be able to do that when you’re playing at home.”

The Lady Wolves, who brought a No. 12 national ranking, jumped out to a quick 10-4 lead in the first two-and-a-half minutes before MCC settled down and climbed back into it.

Co-Lin kept a consistent lead the entire first half, but never led by more than seven points. MCC found itself down six points before Hilal Yildirim canned a 3-pointer with 2 minutes left to cut the lead to 33-30. After a Co-Lin basket, MCC’s Holly Dial hit a runner with 9.5 seconds left to cut the Lady Wolves’ lead to 35-32 at halftime.

However, whatever momentum Meridian had going into halftime evaporated in the first 45 seconds of the second half. Co-Lin’s Nikki Williams scored the first basket of the half 25 seconds in after an MCC turnover. The Lady Eagles turned the ball over again on their next possession and the Lady Wolves capitalized with another basket to give them a seven-point lead again.

Allen called a timeout to try and settle his team down but it was too late. Co-Lin outscored the Lady Eagles 19-9 in the first 6 minutes of the second half to pull out to a 13-point lead.Meridian clawed to within single digits a couple of times in the remainder of the game, but the Lady Wolves always had an answer.

Allen said the difference in the game was MCC’s lack of offensive rebounding in the second half after holding their own in the first half of play.

“We got some offensive rebounding in the first half to keep the game close,” Allen said. “We stopped doing that in the second half. (Co-Lin) made some adjustments at halftime that made a difference.”

Co-Lin dominated the low post the entire game, with Erica Trahan pouring in 21 points, despite sitting out a large part of the first half with foul trouble.

“She had a big game,” Allen said. “We’ve not very big and when the opposing team gets a post player with skills it’s going to hurt us. We try to counteract that by doubling down with our guards but they didn’t do a very good job of doing that tonight.”

The Lady Eagles dropped to 12-8 overall and 2-2 in division play with the loss. They were led by NaDosha Strickland with 19 points and Anesia McBride with 16. Dial pitched in with 15 while Yildirim scored 10.

In addition to Trahan’s 21 points, Co-Lin got 22 from Williams.

“We had played so well the last four games that I couldn’t wait to come out here and play tonight,” Allen said. “I was hopeful we’d come out of here successful but that wasn’t the case.”

Co-Lin men 85
Meridian 78

The Eagles have made a habit of losing a lead this season. Against Co-Lin, they tried the opposite approach: Get down by a large margin and mount a furious comeback.

It still resulted in a loss.

Meridian trailed by as many as 20 points in the second half of the game before rallying to make the Wolves sweat before they were able to pull out a win.

“We’ve got to play all 40 minutes with the same intensity,” MCC coach George Brooks said. “We’ve had three close losses. We’ve got to give a consistent effort for 40 minutes and we haven’t been able to achieve that.”

After holding a 41-30 lead at halftime, Co-Lin took its biggest lead of the night at 64-44 with 12:02 remaining. However, that’s when the Eagles woke up and started playing.

Meridian cut the lead to 74-66 when the Eagles’ Dexter Leflore converted a three-point play with 5:20 left.After a Co-Lin basket, Chris Leggett scored the next four points for MCC to trim the lead to 76-70 with 2:10 remaining.

Leflore then canned a jumper and, after a Co-Lin free throw, Keith James hit two free throws to cut the lead to 79-74 with 47 seconds left.

Co-Lin missed two more free throws on its next possession and James nailed a baseline jumper with 29.3 seconds left to trim the deficit to three points. However, that’s as close as they got.

Co-Lin’s Greg Truvillion hit eight consecutive free throws in the final half minute to seal the win for the Wolves and drop MCC to 4-11 on the season.

“I was pleased to see we didn’t give up,” Brooks said. “But we’ve got to play with consistent effort the whole game. Hopefully we’ll be able to do it next game."

Santez Johnson led the Eagles with 16 points while Leggett had 15 and James 13. Co-Lin was led by Truvillion with 22 points and Charles Lewis with 19.

Lady Eagles Upset No. 18 Jones Lady Bobcats, Men Lose Close Game

MCC Lady Eagles-92
Jones Co.- 85

Hilary Allen was hoping that his Meridian Community College basketball team could shake off a tough loss last Thursday and bounce back.

He got his wish.

The Lady Eagles overcame a seven-point deficit in the final 6 minuets and defeated No.18 ranked Jones County Junior College 92-85 Monday at Bobcat Gym.

“No question about it, we needed this one,” Allen said.

“We lost a close one to a good ECCC team in overtime and JCJC battled ECCC right before that (an 81-80 JCJC win). That just tells you what this league is about. We are all going to battle and have one or two or three-point ball games.”

“This was a huge victory for us to come on the road and get a victory.”

Meridian was in control early, taking a 16-6 lead with 15:47 left when Anesia McBride scored. Jones fought back and took a 20-18 lead with 11:29 left when Pauline Love scored.

But the Lady Eagles then grabbed the momentum. They went on a 29-11 run over the next 7 minuets, taking a 47-31 lead with 4:22 left in the half when Hilal Yildrim drained a 3-pointer from the left wing.

MCC was up 54-43 at the half, but Jones came out strong in the second half. Kelsey Hopkins converted a 3-point play to put the Lady Bobcats ahead 66-64 with 8:52 left. And Love’s basket at the 5:50 mark gave Jones a 78-71 lead.

But the Lady Eagles came charging back.

MCC’s NaDosha Strickland put the visitors ahead for good when she canned a pair of free throws at the 2:46 mark to make it 84-82. Jones got within 85-86 at the 1:21 mark. But MCC converted a field goal and made 4-of-6 free throws down the stretch to clinch the win.

Strickland led MCC, 9-5 overall and 2-1 in the division, with 24 points.

Yildrim had 16, Carla Latham, McBride and Zirconia Hopkins added 13 each.

Jones Co.- 82
MCC Eagles- 79

Kyle Roane felt a sense of relief Monday night.

“Winning cures a lot of ills,” said Jones Junior College head coach Kyle Roane, after watching his Bobcats beat the Meridian Community College Eagles, 82-79, here at Bobcat Gym.

The victory improves Jones to 2-11 overall and 1-2 in the South Division.

In the women’s game, the Lady Eagles knocked off the No. 18 Lady Bobcats, 92-85.

Meridian hosts Co-Lin on Thursday, while Jones travels to Gulf Coast.

Roane said his Bobcats have continued to work hard and give solid effort on the court.

“We came back from the holiday break and had two real tough defeats on the road,” he said.

“We basically went back and had a basketball camp. I thought we took a step forward against Hinds Thursday (a 74-64 loss) where we led for 35 minutes. Tonight, it worked out.

“We just kept taking steps forward. This was huge for our guys and I’m proud for them.”

Meridian got out to a solid start. The Eagles took a 29-16 lead with 9:06 left in the first half when Dexter LeFlore canned a 3-pointer. MCC took its longest lead of the night at 38-24 with 3:05 left in the half when LeFlore nailed another trey.

Jones trimmed the lead to 38-32, but LeFlore was credited with a tap-in at the buzzer to give MCC a 40-32 lead at intermission.

“That tip gave them the momentum back,” said Roane.

But Jones roared back in the second half.

The Bobcats took their first lead since the opening minutes when Marcus Crockrum hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 55-53 with 11:07 remaining. MCC tied the game at 61-61 with 7:06 left when Bay Springs’ Regis Huddleston scored.

However, Bay Springs’ freshman LaBarton Jones responded with a 3-pointer for the Bobcats to give the hosts the lead for good, 64-61 with 6:53 left. Another Jones 3-pointer with 3:56 left gave the Bobcats their longest lead of the night at 74-65.

Both MCC teams will be back in action Thursday night at home v. Co-Lin CC.

Henderson Ink's With MCC Golf

MCC Sports Information
Jan. 16, 2007




(MERIDIAN)- Meridian Community College golf coach, Sean Covich, signed the beginning piece of his 2007 recruiting class Tuesday morning in Lucedale, MS.

Blaine Henderson of George County High School signed a national letter of intent to play for Covich and the MCC golf team in the fall of 2007.

“I am excited about playing for one of the premier programs in the nation,” said Henderson. “I look forward to having success in the classroom and on the golf course.”

Henderson has been the captain of the George County golf team 10th thru the 12th grade. He guided the Rebels to back-to-back 4A state championships in 2004 and 2005.

Individually, Henderson has claimed four medalist titles, including the 4-5A district medalist. He has posted 3 career top-five finishes in the state championship.
Henderson holds the course record at Vancleave Country Club (67). In 2005 he was named the “Player of the Week” at the Florida State University golf camp.

“Blaine, first of all, is a wonderful young man who will represent this college and golf team with class,” said Covich.

“Secondly, he is a wonderful student of the game who has learned from some of the great pros and teachers on the Gulf Coast.”

A native of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Henderson has also volunteered for the Special Olympics and Hurricane Katrina Relief. He is a member of the Southside Baptist Church and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Henderson is the son of Barkley and Pam Henderson.

Meridian Community College is currently ranked 4th in the latest NJCAA men’s golf poll (div II). The Eagles are coming off a 3rd place finish in the 2006 NJCAA national championship and captured six tournaments in 2005-06.

MCC Beat Rival ECCC, Ladies Lose In OT

Jeff Edwards
The Meridian Star


Meridian men 100
East Central men 85

The Meridian Eagles almost let a huge first half lead slip away and made sure they wouldn’t do the same thing in the second half against East Central.

The Eagles led by as much as 17 points in the first half, but saw ECCC go on a run to cut the lead to 45-40 at halftime.

If the Eagles were taken aback by the Warrior run, they didn’t show it. MCC came out of the locker room and scored the first 10 points of the second half to stretch their lead back out again.

“We kept our concentration and came out determined,” MCC coach George Brooks said. “We’ve let a couple of games slip away from us this year and didn’t want to let that happen this time.”

Meridian led by as many as 22 points in the second half before the Warriors went on a 16-2 run of their own to cut the lead to 80-72 with 7:35 left.

However, the Eagles were able to regain their composure and outscored East Central 20-13 the remainder of the game.

MCC (4-9, 1-1) had six different players in double-figures, led by Regis Huddleston with 19 points. Keith James was close behind with 16 while Chris Leggett scored 15 and Maurice Naylor had 14. Also in double-figures was Dexter Leflore with 12 and Mike Strickland with 11.

ECCC was led by Earnesto Green with 20 points while Marquis Wilson scored 16 and Brandon Shelton chipped in with 11.


MCC women 86
ECCC women 95 (ot)

The layup line is always a warmup tradition before basketball games. Teams usually saunder through the drill lackadaisically, seemingly never believing that a game might come down to that simple shot.

However, the Meridian Community College Lady Eagles might work even harder on that drill from now on after a missed layup cost them a win over East Central and led to a 95-86 overtime defeat.

With the score tied at 82 and time ticking down, East Central missed a shot that led to a MCC breakaway. Jennifer Wair put up an uncontested layup with two seconds left that tantalizingly hung on the rim before falling off as the buzzer sounded, sending the game into overtime.

“It’s just one of those things,” East Central coach Billy Smith said. “She’ll make that shot nine out of 10 times. We went from a sure loss to a chance to win and the girls took advantage of that opportunity.”

The lost chance at victory seemed to take the wind out of the Lady Eagles’ sails in the overtime period, as they were outscored 13-4 in the extra frame. MCC tied the score at 86 with 3:20 left, but ECCC scored the final nine points of the game to take the win.

“(The missed layup) probably did play a factor (in the overtime session),” MCC coach Hilary Allen said. “A two-foot shot in practice is a lot different than in a pressure-packed game with 500 fans screaming.”

The Lady Eagles didn’t look like they would even be in a position to win the game after trailing the entire first half.

MCC was powerless to stop the Lady Warrior offensive assault, and when East Central’s Andrea Dubose hit a three-pointer at the first half buzzer, the Lady Eagles found themselves down 53-42 at the break.

However, the second half was a different story. The Lady Eagles went on a 14-2 run that was capped by a NaDisha Strickland basket to take a 59-57 lead just 4:10 into the second half. The game remained tight from that point forward, with MCC never holding a lead of more than two points and ECCC never holding more than a four-point lead.

Meridian took a lead when Holly Dial nailed a three with 2:28 left to put the Lady Eagles up 80-78. East Central’s Valarie Harris would tie the score with basket with 1:40 remaining. Harris led all scorers with 32 points.

MCC took their final lead of the night with 1:10 remaining on a Hilal Yildrim basket but the Lady Warriors would set up the final second dramatics when Tawaytha Evans hit a basket with 45 seconds left that tied the score at 82.

The loss, which dropped MCC to 8-5 and 1-1 in conference play, left Allen shaking his head at what might have been.

“This was a conference game at home,” Allen said. “Those are the games you’ve got to win if you want to make the playoffs. Losing tonight was a huge blow.”

In addition to Harris’ 32, the Lady Warriors, who improved their record to 9-3 overall and 1-1 in the conference, were led by Tanesha Brown with 20 and Evans with 11. MCC was led by Strickland with 18 points, Anesia McBride with 14 and Dial with 13, all in the second half. Wair and Yildrim scored 11 each for MCC.

MCC Golfer, Petit, Commits to University of Louisiana Lafayette

Luling, LA native and Meridian Community College standout Dustin Petit gave a verbal commitment to University of Louisiana-Lafayette head golf coach Bob Bass last week. Petit is the second MCC golfer this season to commit to a four year university. Justin Eaves signed with Troy University in December. Sixteen former Eagle golfers have now gone on to the next level since the 1990’s.

In high school, Petit helped lead Hahnville (LA) High to the Class 5A state title at Beaver Creek in the spring of 2005 with a 73-73-146 score. But his bigger honors came last year in his first junior college season at Meridian, where he led his team to the MACJC state/Region XXIII title and an eight-under par team score.

Petit was the medalist in Region XXIII and the state tournament (66-71-137) and was named the state's junior college Player of the Year. He followed that by leading Meridian to a third-place finish in the NJCAA national championship and was named to the national All-Tournament team.

Winner of the Hubert Tucker award given to the state's top juco player, Petit's Meridian team is ranked fourth nationally among juco squads heading into the spring season.
He also made the cut for last summer's Junior Masters in Dothan, Ala.

MCC Ladies Lose at GA Perimeter

from staff reports
The Meridian Star

The Meridian Community College women dropped a 73-64 decision to nationally-ranked Georgia Perimeter College in Atlanta Friday night.

The Lady Eagles lost despite 17 points from freshman NaDosha Strickland of Bay Springs and 14 points from sophomore point guard Holly Dial. Freshman forward Jennifer Wair chipped in 12 points.

MCC will open South Division play Monday at Hinds.

— Rocky Higginbotham

Former Eagle Baseball Player Among Brave's Top 10 Prospects

Former MCC baseball player, Van Pope, is among the Atlanta Brave's top prospects according to a Baseball America website.

To read more, please visit:

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/features/263052.html

Five MCC Golfers Named All-Academic

(MERIDIAN)- The Meridian Community College golf team has announced that five of its student-athletes All-Academic Team. MCC head golf coach, Sean Covich confirmed Tuesday morning that the following MCC golfers will be named to the MCC Golf All-Academic Team:

Michael Burton, Justin Eaves, Joshua Ivy, Dustin Petit, and Bryant Self.

All-Academic Team memebers must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or better on a 4.0 scale for the past semester.

The All-Academic Team members will be receive a C.B. Hales Certificate for Academic Achievement among MCC Golfers and will earn additional MCC Golfer of the Year Points.