EMCC Lions roar back to finish off 75-72 comeback win at East Central
After trailing host East Central for most of the contest, the visiting East Mississippi Community College men’s basketball team came through during crunch time by erasing a 12-point, second-half deficit to escape Brackeen-Wood Gymnasium with a clutch 75-72 road victory during Monday’s MACCC hoops action.
DECATUR – After trailing host East Central for most of the contest, the visiting East Mississippi Community College men's basketball team came through during crunch time by erasing a 12-point, second-half deficit to escape Brackeen-Wood Gymnasium with a clutch 75-72 road victory during Monday's MACCC hoops action.
The men's nightcap looked promising early on for the visitors following game-opening three-pointers from Curly Robinson and DeAndre Lewis. East Central grabbed the advantage soon thereafter, however, and built a pair of 10-point leads during the first half.
The Warriors maintained control of the contest for most of the second stanza, expanding a seven-point (36-29) halftime margin to a dozen points (45-33) three minutes into the half. The Lions' comeback began following a 7-0 spurt that cut ECCC's precarious lead to just three points midway through the half.
After East Central went back up by seven points (69-62) with less than four minutes remaining in regulation, EMCC's Jayden Tatum quickly answered Keaton Grey's trey with a clutch triple of his own. A minute later, Tatum came up big again with another three-pointer to make a one-point (69-68) game with 2:20 left.
Down the stretch with under a minute remaining after the Warriors moved ahead 72-68, Lewis hit a critical three-pointer to close the gap to a point. EMCC's defense then stepped up with Ace McKinnie's block of a layup attempt at the rim that led to a pair of go-ahead free throws by Jace O'Neal with 26.2 seconds left.
On the game's next possession, O'Neal picked off a perimeter pass and threw the ball ahead to Tatum, who was met at the rim by an East Central defender who in turn came down on the baseline with the rebound to give EMCC ball possession. Robinson was fouled inside on the resulting inbounds play and his subsequent made free throws pushed the Lions' lead out to three points with just 3.1 ticks remaining on the game clock. The Warriors did manage to get off a three-point attempt inside halfcourt as the final buzzer sounded, but the potential game-tying shot bounced off the back of the rim.
Lewis led all scorers with 24 points – 15 in the second half – on 8-of-13 field goals and 6-of-6 free throws in the winning effort. O'Neal followed with 14 points (5-7 FGs & 4-4 FTs) and six assists off the bench. Tatum and Robinson added 12 valuable points apiece for the Lions.
Coach Billy Begley's EMCC Lions (13-12, 3-6 MACCC) will return home to play host to the Trojans of Mississippi Delta on Thursday (Feb. 12). A 5:30 p.m. women's game will be followed by a 7:30 p.m. men's contest at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum on the Scooba campus.