MCC pulls away from Shreveport: Eagles sparked by 20-5 run

Meridian men 95
Shreveport 84

Trailing by 15 points midway through the first half, Meridian Community College scored 20 of the game's next 25 points to take its first lead since the opening minutes of the contest.

From that point, the Eagles and Southern University at Shreveport battled back-and-forth until MCC was able to pull away late in the game to take a 95-84 Miss-Lou Conference win.

"This was a good win for us," said MCC coach George Brooks. "I thought we adjusted and did some good things on defense. At the start of the game, I thought we gave up too many second-chance points, but we did a better job of rebounding the ball in the second half."

Otis Williams, who connected on 6-of-13 behind the arc, scored a game-high 31 points. As a team, the Eagles, who trailed by three at halftime, converted half of their 26 3-point attempts.

Mario Luckett exploded for 16 second-half points to post a 20-point total, while Travis Thompson tallied 15.

Former Northeast Lauderdale standout Tommy Tillman added a dozen, and Gary Cunningham dropped a dime for the Eagles.

MCC improves to 11-9 on the year and pulls even in conference play at 1-1.

Meridian women 86
Shreveport 73

MCC jumped out to a quick 10-point lead early in the first half and kept the difference in double digits throughout the entire game.

The Lady Eagles, who led by as many as 20 points before halftime, took an 11-point lead into the locker room, but stretched it back to 20 early on in the second half.

Former Philadelphia star Tiara Logan (24 points) and Natonya McWilliams (20) each connected on three 3-pointers, while Tiara Parker, an ex-Meridian Lady Wildcat, knocked down six from downtown to total 16 points.

McWilliams turned her performance into a double-double with 14 rebounds.

Sharda'e Johnson added 11 for MCC.

Both MCC squads return to the court Thursday at Hinds Community College.