November 22, 2017
The East Central Community College basketball teams went undefeated in the annual EC Classic held Nov. 20-21 in Brackeen-Wood Gym on the campus in Decatur.
The Lady Warriors remained undefeated at 6-0 on the season with an 87-53 win over Southern University-Shreveport on Nov. 20 and followed that with an 84-53 win over Lawson State Community College out of Birmingham, Ala., the following day.
The Warriors improved their record to 4-3 with a 106-85 win over Faith Prep Academy out of West Memphis, Ark., on Nov. 20 and an 87-83 overtime win over Mississippi Delta Community College on Nov. 21.
In the first game of the tournament, the ECCC women got 62 points from three freshmen in the 24-point win over Southern-Shreveport. Sharan Turner of East Ascension in Gonzales, La., had 25 points, Diamond Wraggs from Louisville had 22, and Tamirra Haskin of Laurel added 15. Turner also had 16 rebounds and Wraggs had 11.
The trio again led the way in the win over Lawson State. Wraggs had 19 points and nine boards, while Turner chipped in 14 points and Haskin 13. Freshman Tan Lloyd out of Newton had 10 points
Freshman guard Roti Ware from Morton dropped a career high 28 points in the Warriors first night win over Faith Prep. Ware hit 10 of 14 shots from the field, including 5 of 9 from beyond the three-point line. Sophomore guard Cayman Ruffin of Neshoba Central had 15 points, sophomore guard Thurston McCarty of Quitman had 13, sophomore guard Jaquan Dotson out of Neshoba Center had 11, and senior forwards Cameron Diggs (Mobile, Ala., Blount) and Antonio Clark of Leake Central added 10 each as the Warriors topped the century mark for the first time this season. Diggs also pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds and had four blocks.
In the overtime win over Mississippi Delta, the game was tight all evening with East Central holding a slim 41-39 lead at the half. The visitors were able to pull out to an eight point lead in the second half, before the Warriors made a run to get back in the game. Six straight points by Ware late in the second half helped East Central tie the game 78-78 after 40 minutes.
The Warriors then outscored Mississippi Delta 9-5 in the extra five minutes to win the game. Ware again had the hot hand for East Central with 24 points, while Dotson added 19.
The Warriors and Lady Warriors open MACJC South Division play on Monday, Dec. 4, when they host Southwest Mississippi Community College in Brackeen-Wood Gym. The women play at 5:30 p.m. and the men will tipoff at 7:30 p.m.
All home basketball games can be heard on WKOZ Cruisin 98.3 or via audio stream and live stream video at www.eccc.edu/eccc-media.
