February 5, 2021
he East Central Community College Warriors dropped to 0-4 on the year on Thursday night as the Meridian Eagles (2-2) picked up an 80-67 win in Brackeen-Wood Gymnasium.
"We have to start off on a better foot, and that starts with our practice habits," said ECCC head men's basketball coach Rahim Lockhart. "Our guys have to learn to bring that energy, and that effort is inexcusable, but with some work we can be much better."
Neither offense was in rhythm in the opening minutes of play as there were only 10 combined points through the first five minutes, but as the teams got their feet under them, the Eagles chipped out a double-digit lead. At the half, Meridian led by 10, 37-27.
The Warriors made several pushes in the second half with a basket by Darien Newchurch (Jackson) cutting the lead to eight and a pair of three-pointers from Tate Ryder (Hattiesburg) also cutting the lead to eight later in the game, but neither offensive effort was enough to get the game back in ECCC's favor.
East Central shot the ball pretty well in the contest as a team, shooting 43 percent on 23-of-53 shots, but Meridian poured in 49 percent on 28-of-57. Demajion Topps (Winona) was once again the Warriors scoring leader as he netted 18 points off the bench. Timothy McElroy (DeKalb) added 12, while Newchurch scored 10. McElroy posted a team-high six rebounds and Topps dished out the most assists with four. Meridian was led by Tyron Moore and Brandon Ellington who both scored 19 points. Zebadiah Kirkwood finished with a double-double after scoring 14 points and hauling in 13 rebounds.
The Warriors are on the road next Monday, Feb. 8 as the team travels to Wesson to face the Co-Lin Wolves. Tipoff for that game is set for 6 p.m. and fans can watch the game live at www.colinathletics.com/watch courtesy of the Co-Lin Athletic Department.
