MCC Men Capture First Win; MCC Women Fall To Wallace-Hanceville

From School Reports


The Meridian Community College Eagles have experienced many difficult times throughout the 2012-2013 season and were looking for that illusive first victory this season. The Eagles got the monkey off its back Sunday afternoon at the Graham Gymnasium with a dramatic 46-45 victory over Wallace-Hanceville.

The two squads swapped the lead for much of the second half and the Eagles had possession of the ball with the game tied at 45-45 with under 10 seconds remaining in regulation. Former Meridian High standout Nick Water was fouled with four seconds remaining and would head to the charity stripe with a pair of free throws. Water drained the first free throw and came up short on the second opportunity to give Wallace-Hanceville one final chance for the game winning score. After a timeout, the Lions drove the length of the floor for a desperation shot that came up short to give MCC its first victory of the season.

Freshman William Byrd led the Eagles in the scoring department with 18 points and T.J. Jones added nine points in the win.

MCC (1-19) will return to action this Saturday night for another key Miss-Lou Conference game on the road against Baton Rouge Community College. The game is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. and will be played on the campus of Millsaps College in Jackson, MS.

Wallace-Hanceville 64

MCC (women) 56

The Lady Lions were able to hold off a fierce comeback by MCC in women’s action to take an eight-point road victory. The Lady Eagles trailed by at least 15 points on two different occasions in the second, but couldn’t overcome the enormous deficit. The Lady Eagles cut the lead to as few as three points in the final five minutes, but Wallace-Hanceville would hang on for the win.

Gelese Lampton led the way in scoring for MCC with 19 points, while Ashtin McNichols added 12 points in the loss. MCC struggled shooting from the floor in the contest by finishing the game a shooting percentage of 29.

MCC (13-7) will return to action this Saturday night on the road at Baton Rouge Community College at 6 p.m. The game will be played at Millsaps College in Jackson, MS.