MCC Basketball Falls to ECCC

From School Reports

Meridian Community College and East Central Community College renewed its rivalry on the hardwood Monday night with a pair of critical MACJC South Division games at the Graham Gymnasium in Meridian. ECCC was able to leave Meridian with a pair of huge conference wins to stay in the hunt for a postseason spot in the rugged MACJC South Division race. The Lady Warriors fought off a late run by Meridian and was able to escape with a 78-74 victory, while the ECCC men fought back from a seven-point halftime deficit to come away with an 80-72 victory over Meridian.

The East Central women improved to 10-8 overall for the season and 4-5 in conference play, while the East Central men moved to 10-8 overall and 5-4 in league play. The MCC women dropped to 8-10 overall and 2-7 in conference play with the loss, and the MCC men are now 2-15 overall and 0-9 in league play. East Central will return to conference action on Thursday night  at home against Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, while MCC will take on Southwest Mississippi Community College at the Graham Gymnasium. The two doubleheaders will both start with women’s action at 5:30 and the scheduled men’s games at 7:30.

The Lady Warriors built a double-digit lead for most of the game on Monday night against Meridian, but had to fight off a furious comeback to hold on for a four-point road victory. MCC took its only lead of the game with 4:01 left in the fourth quarter, but could never get over the hump to fall to the Lady Warriors. Sophomore Laneisha Jeans led the way in scoring for ECCC with 20 points, while former Wayne County star Curtisha Coleman poured in 19 points in the winning effort. Bryona Stewart helped pace the Lady Warriors with 16 points of the bench and former Newton High star Autumn Taylor finished with 11 points.

Freshman Shannon Tate led Meridian in the scoring department with 14 points and Mary Maxwell scored 13 points off the bench for the Lady Eagles. Freshman guard Rokila Wallace also had a solid night offensively for the Lady Eagles by finishing with 11 points.

The ECCC men were able to overcome a seven-point deficit at halftime to come away with an 82-70 win over Meridian to complete the road sweep. Sophomore Tonzell Handy led the way in scoring for the Warriors with 24 points and former Neshoba Central standout Cayman Ruffin finished with 12 points. Sophomore guard Mike Woodard led the way for MCC with 22 points in the loss, while former Southeast Lauderdale star Johnny Knox end the night with 13 points for the Eagles. Sophomore Timothy Patton also contributed in the game for Meridian with 14 points off the bench in the setback for the home team.