February 13, 2018
(Left Photo) ECCC freshman guard Roti Ware drives for two of his team-high 22 points against Co-Lin. (Right Photo) Lady Warrior Feria Mays puts up a jumper as her teammates anticipate a basket. (EC Photos)
Two of the better teams in the MACJC this season had to fight for their lives against the East Central Community College men and women before taking close wins in South Division action Monday, Feb. 12, at Brackeen-Wood Gym in Decatur.
The Copiah-Lincoln Community College Lady Wolves, currently in second place in the MACJC South Division, took a 74-69 win over the East Central Lady Warriors in the first game of the night. The MACJC South Division leading Co-Lin Wolves had to overcome a 16-point halftime deficit to defeat the ECCC Warriors 79-77 in overtime.
In the opening game, the East Central women battled from behind the entire 40 minutes, never leading in the contest. Co-Lin led by as many as 14 in the first half before settling for a 42-30 lead after two periods. The Lady Wolves stretched their lead to 20 in the third period before the Lady Warriors began a furious comeback to close the gap to the final 74-69 score.
The Lady Warriors had three players in double figures, including freshman guard Tamirra Haskin of Laurel with 15 and freshman guard Diamond Wraggs of Louisville and sophomore guard Autumn Taylor of Newton with 12 each. Taylor also had nine assists and was one of five East Central players with two steals each in the game. Sophomore forward My’Neka Frazier of McComb had a game-high 12 rebounds, while Wraggs pulled down 11.
The East Central Lady Warriors fell to 11-8 overall and 4-7 in the MACJC South Division. The Co-Lin Lady Wolves improved to 17-3 overall and 8-3 in the league.
In the men’s game, East Central jumped on the cold-shooting Wolves early and led by as many as 17-points, before settling for a 45-29 lead at the half. The second half was a different story, as Co-Lin shot over 60 percent from to field to eventually tie the game at 70-70 and send it to overtime and pick up a 79-77 win over East Central.
The Warriors were led by the 22 points and seven rebounds of freshman guard Roti Ware of Morton. Sophomore guards Thurston McCarty of Quitman and Jaquan Dotson of Neshoba Central added 15 and 13, respectively, and sophomore forward Cameron Diggs (Mobile, Ala., Blount) had 10 points. Dotson had nine of East Central’s 43 rebounds in the game. Freshman guard Tre Pinkston of Forest had a game-high seven assists.
The Warriors fell to 9-11 overall and 3-8 in MACJC South Division play. The Co-Lin men are now 17-3 overall and 6-4 in the league.
The East Central teams are on the road Thursday, Feb. 15, when they travel to Poplarville to face Pearl River Community College at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.
The ECCC Warriors and Lady Warriors return home on Monday, Feb. 19, for the final home games of the season. Jones County Junior College visits at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in Brackeen-Wood Gym in Decatur.
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.
