Eagles hold on: Big first half sparks MCC past Delgado

By Chris Brennaman / Assistant Sports Editor

What was a blowout at halftime turned into a nail-biter of sorts for the Meridian Community College Eagles Saturday in Graham Gymnasium on the MCC campus.

The Eagles led by 21 at halftime, but held off a second-half surge by visiting Delgado Community College to take an 86-72 win.

After halftime, MCC (8-5) scored 23 of its 40 points from the free-throw line as the Dolphins committed 17 fouls in the second half alone.

"I thought our guys responded well down the stretch with the clutch free throws" said MCC coach George Brooks. "We had a great first-half start with great intensity. We just have to learn to protect that lead and keep the pedal down. We let up a little, but the guys stayed together and won through adversity."

With Meridian holding a 22-point lead 3:17 into the second half, Delgado started applying the pressure, going on a 12-2 run to close to within 12.

The Dolphins got as close as nine on three separate occasions, but each time Meridian put the lead back in double digits with free throws.

The Eagles withstood a barrage of 3-point attempts in the final 20 minutes, as Delgado launched 14 shots from beyond the arc. Ricardo Porter connected on four attempts in the second half, bringing his total to seven in the game.

Porter, who scored a game-high 29 points, was the only Dolphin to make a shot from downtown as the team combined for a 7-for-22 day.

Late in the first half, the Eagles used a 16-1 run to turn an eight-point lead into 24 points. During that span, Gary Cunningham scored 10 of his 12 points, including a pair of 3s.

Mario Luckett, who recorded a team-high 21 points for the Eagles, was the only MCC player to convert a field goal in the game's final 12 minutes with a layup 33 seconds before the final horn. Five of his nine free throws came during the span, which saw Meridian tally 19 points from the charity stripe.

Otis Williams tacked on 17, while Travis Thompson finished with 12.

The win snapped a two-game losing skid for the Eagles, who were playing at home for the first time in nearly a month.

"We needed to win today," Brooks said. "Those (last) two were bitter losses and we had to sit on them for a week and that was tough, but our guys came out and responded the right way."


Meridian women 69
Delgado 56

The Lady Eagles also ended their two-game skid with a 13-point win over visiting Delgado.

The Lady Dolphins took an early 9-6 lead on a 3-pointer by Jamie Ellis, who scored a team-high 11 points for Delgado, which beat the shot clock. DCC held Meridian at bay until the 3:42 mark of the first half.

The Lady Dolphins, whose largest lead of the game was six, withstood two ties during the stretch, but didn't relinquish the go-ahead basket until former Meridian Lady Wildcat Tiara Parker hit the first of her three consecutive shots, including a 3-pointer.

Parker scored a game-high 15 points and came up an assist shy of a double-double.

Once Meridian held the lead, the Lady Eagles didn't give it up, putting as many as 18 points between themselves and the visitors.

"We lost both of our last two games by three points each," said MCC coach Hilary Allen. "We played well in both of those games, but it was nice to get back on the winning track."

LaQuita Burrough notched a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards for the Lady Eagles, who improved to 11-5 as they handed Delgado its sixth straight loss.

Brittany Bohannon, a former Kemper County standout, added 10 points in the contest.

Both MCC teams return to action Tuesday at Southern Shreveport.