February 16, 2018

The East Central Community College Lady Warriors picked up a 64-58 MACJC South Division basketball road win over the Pearl River Community College Lady Wildcats Thursday, Feb. 15, while the Warriors fell 72-64 to the Pearl River Wildcats in games played at M.R. White Coliseum in Poplarville.

A hot-shooting second quarter helped the Lady Warriors overcome a 16-8 deficit and grab 34-29 halftime lead in a contest with playoff connotations for both teams. Pearl River briefly took a 46-44 lead with 7:52 to play in the game before East Central took over and sealed the victory.

Freshman guard Tamirra Haskin of Laurel led the Lady Warriors with 15 points and eight assists. Freshman guard Diamond Wraggs of Louisville added 12 points.

The East Central Lady Warriors improved to 12-9 overall and 5-7 in the MACJC South Division. ECCC is tied for fifth in the South Division standings with the top four teams making the playoffs. The Lady Wildcats fell to 12-8 overall and 5-7 in the league.

In the men’s action, the first half was a close affair until Pearl River went on a 16-5 run to grab an 11-point lead. The Warriors battled back to within two at 32-30 before the Wildcats took a 36-32 lead into the locker room. Pearl River led by as many as 13 in the second half in eliminating the Warriors from playoff contention.

Leading the way for East Central was freshman guard Roti Ware of Morton with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Thurston McCarty of Quitman added 13 points and sophomore forward Cameron Diggs (Mobile, Ala., Blount) had 11.

East Central fell to 9-12 overall and 3-9 in MACJC South Division play. The Pearl River Wildcats improved to 16-4 overall and 8-4 in the league.

The ECCC Warriors and Lady Warriors will close out their home seasons on Monday, Feb. 19, as Jones County Junior College visits at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in Brackeen-Wood Gym in Decatur.

The East Central teams will play their final games of the season on Thursday, Feb. 22, in Utica against Hinds Community College. The women tip off at 5:30 p.m. and the men follow 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.