January 25, 2022
The East Central Community College Warriors fell 69-55 in a hard-nosed matchup with the Northwest Rangers on Monday night, January 24. With the loss, the Warriors fall to 4-9, 2-4 on the year, while the Rangers move to 12-4, 5-3.
The Rangers took advantage of some free throws early in the game to grow a six-point lead just four minutes into the action. The Warriors were quick to respond with some key baskets from David Berry (Mendenhall) and Avery Richards (Jackson). The scores cut the Ranger lead down to just one, and Demajion Topps (Winona) put ECCC on top with a jumper. The sophomore followed that possession with a huge three-pointer to grow the Warrior lead to four, 19-15. The quick run midway through the first half got the crowd in Brackeen-Wood Gymanisum involved and helped ECCC take a 32-31 advantage into the half.
Unfortunately, the Warriors came out cold in the second half as the Rangers built a quick 13-2 run. The run was not the result of a lack of grit, but simply that the Warriors could not get a shot to fall on the offensive end of the floor. The Warriors were able to pull the lead down to single digits a couple of times later in the half, but another Ranger scoring run at the 10-minute mark in the second put the game away.
Topps led the Warriors with 17 points on the night, while Christopher Keys (Quitman) racked up 15. Keys was also the Warrior leader on the glass with nine rebounds as he was just one board shy of a double-double. Matthew Mackey (Flowood) had a notable night as he dished five assists for ECCC, and Antwan Hatten (Laurel) brought down seven rebounds.
Isaiah Gaines led the Rangers with 21 points and 17 rebounds on the night, while Ethan Pickett also posted a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
The Warriors are on the road this Thursday, January 27, as the team heads to Summit to take on the Southwest Bears (11-6, 4-4) at 6 p.m. Southwest enters the game off a 73-69 victory over Coahoma, and links to the game's live stream will be published as soon as they become available.
