February 4, 2022
The East Central Community College Warriors pushed the No. 20 East Mississippi Lions to the limits on Thursday night, Feb. 3, as ECCC tied the game at 57-57 midway through the second half, unfortunately, EMCC was able to sneak out a 74-65 victory down the stretch. ECCC fell to 4-12, 2-8 on the year, while the Lions improved to 15-4, 8-2. The game was played on the EMCC campus in Scooba.
The night started off hot for the Warriors as Christopher Keys (Quitman) nailed a three-pointer on the first possession of the contest. The teams would go toe-to-toe over the next 19 and a half minutes as the game was tied five times during the first half. The Lions closed out the first half on a 5-0 run to take a 32-27 lead into the break.
The second half was more stellar basketball as the Warriors came out of the locker room and instantly closed the gap with baskets from Keys and David Berry (Mendenhall). Five minutes into the second, the Warrior offense found their rhythm and rattled off an 11-3 run with impressive play from Keys and a pair of back-to-back three-pointers from Damian McKnight (Lake Cormorant). With 14 and a half to play, the Warriors were on top, 44-40.
The teams began to trade baskets for the next seven minutes, but some EMCC three-pointers allowed the Lions to chip into the lead and eventually knot the game at 57-all. A late three-pointer from EMCC's Jakorie Smith put the Lions in front and the Warriors were just unable to get back into the game down the stretch.
Keys finished the night with a career-high 28 points, while James Granger (DeKalb) scored 11 after knocking down a pair of threes in the first half.
EMCC was led by Smith who posted 28 points, while Traemond Pittman scored 17.
ECCC is back in Decatur on Monday night, Feb. 7, as the team takes on the Holmes Bulldogs (6-11, 2-6) at 6 p.m. in Brackeen-Wood Gymnasium. Fans that cannot attend can watch the action live at www.eccclive.com/gold.
