February 22, 2021
The East Central Community College Warriors gave the No. 10 Pearl River Wildcats all they could handle on Monday, Feb. 22, but fell, 79-74. The loss drops the Warriors to 0-8 on the season.
The Warriors refused to let the Wildcats take a big lead early in the game as they answered nearly every basket with solid shooting on the other end of the floor in the opening minutes. The effort showed as the lead traded hands six times in the first half. The Wildcats went on a scoring run late in the first half and grew the lead to 49-38 going into the break.
In the second, the Wildcats stretched the lead to as many as 15, but the Warriors continued to chip away and hit big three-point shots. The late-game effort cut the Wildcat lead to just two, 74-72, in the final minutes of play, but solid free throw shooting from PRCC put the game on ice with mere seconds on the clock.
The Warriors had four players score in double-digits with JaMichael Wilson (Rayville, La.) leading the way with 20 points. Demajion Topps (Winona) added 17, Devin Carter (Louisville) scored 16, and Darien Newchurch (Jackson) poured in 11. Timothy McElroy (DeKalb) led the Warriors on the boards with nine rebounds and four blocks. ECCC finished the game shooting 41 percent from the floor, but were outrebounded 43 to 32.
The Warriors are back at home on Thursday, Feb. 25, as the Southwest Bears travel to Brackeen-Wood Gymnasium. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. and fans can watch the game live at www.eccclive.com/gold.
