January 26, 2018

The No. 5 ranked Jones County Junior College Lady Bobcats picked up a 101-59 win over the East Central Community College Lady Warriors Thursday, Jan. 25, while the JCJC Bobcats pulled out a 68-61 win over the Warriors in the men’s action.

The two MACJC South Division contests were played in A.B. Howard Gymnasium on the JCJC campus in Ellisville.

In the opening game, the East Central Lady Warriors kept the game close for the first 20 minutes, only trailing 43-39 at the half, before Jones County ran away in the second half for the big win.

Freshman guards Diamond Wraggs of Louisville and Breanna Riley of Gulfport High School led the Lady Warriors with nine points each, while sophomore guard Autumn Taylor of Newton and freshman forward Whitney Waters of Heidelberg added eight points each.

With the loss, the East Central Lady Warriors fell to 9-5 overall and 2-4 in MACJC South Division play. The JCJC Lady Bobcats improved to 13-2 and 6-0.

In the men’s game, Jones County would lead early in the contest, before the Warriors tied the game at 25-25. The Bobcats took a slim 31-30 lead into the locker room.

The Warriors could not find a basket to start the second half and Jones County eventually moved out to a 15-point lead midway through the final 20 minutes. East Central would get to within five points, 66-61, with less than three minutes to play but could get no closer.

Sophomore guard Thurston McCarty of Quitman had another big night for the Warriors with 25 points to lead all scorers. Sophomore guard Jaquan Dotson from Neshoba Central was the only other East Central player in double figures with 13.

East Central’s overall record fell to 8-7. The Warriors are 2-4 in MACJC South Division play. The JCJC Bobcats improved to 9-6 and 4-2.

The ECCC Warriors and Lady Warriors return home on Monday, Jan. 29, to host Hinds Community College at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in Brackeen-Wood Gym in Decatur.

The East Central teams hit the road again next Thursday, Feb. 1, when they travel to Summit to face Southwest Mississippi Community College at 5:30 and 7:15 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.