November 7, 2017


ECCC's Thurston McCarty drives for the basket in the win over Taylor Made. McCarty led the Warriors with 21 points. (EC Photo)

The East Central Community College Lady Warriors used a late barrage of three point baskets to make up a nine point deficit and defeat Northwest Mississippi Community College 87-83 Monday night, Nov. 6, while the Warriors got a 21-point effort from sophomore guard Thurston McCarty in an 87-73 win over Taylor Made Academy.

The basketball doubleheader was played in Brackeen-Wood Gym on the Decatur campus.

The Lady Warriors improved their record to 2-0 on the young season, while the Warriors picked up their first win to move to 1-1.

In the women’s action, East Central trailed Northwest 80-71 with less than three minutes to play. Sophomore forward Latesia Davis out of Newton County High School hit two long three pointers on consecutive trips down the court. She then forced a steal which led to a layup by freshman forward Whitney Waters from Heidelberg. Waters, who was fouled on the play, hit the free throw to tie the game at 80-80 with 2:15 to play. Waters would follow with a three-pointer from the top of the key and two more free throws down the stretch to help give the Lady Warriors the 87-83 win.

Northwest took an early 17-12 lead in the game, before East Central went on an 11-0 run to grab the 23-17 lead. The Rangers followed with a 12-3 run of their own to go back in front 29-26. The score remained close the rest of the first half, with the Lady Warriors eventually taking a 43-42 lead into the locker room.

The Rangers led by as many as 11 in the third period, and by 10 in the fourth period, before the Lady Warriors’ late run picked up the victory.

The Lady Warriors had six players in double figures in the win. Freshman guard Sharan Turner (East Ascension, Gonzales, La.), led the way with 16 points and a game-high 19 rebounds. Freshman guard Diamond Wraggs (Louisville) added 15 points and 13 rebounds. Sophomore guard Autumn Taylor (Newton) chipped in 13 points and six assists, Waters had 13 points and Davis and freshman guard Tan Lloyd (Newton) had 11 each.

In the men’s game, East Central used a 16-1 run over a three-minute span in the first half to take a 42-16 lead over the visitors from Pensacola, Fla., and take command of the basketball game. The Warriors led 26-15 before the run that included pressure defense and a fast breaking offense.

Taylor Made fought its way back to only trail by 10, 43-33, at the half. 

The Warriors pushed the lead back to as many as 24 points in the second half before settling for the 14-point 87-73 win.

McCarty, who prepped at Quitman High School, led the way for the Warriors, scoring 12 of his game-high 21 points in the second half. Sophomore guard Jaquan Dotson out of Neshoba Central also scored in double figures with 16. Dotson tied for the game-high in rebounds with 10. Freshman guard Tre Pinkston (Forest) dished out seven assists for East Central.

The East Central defense held Taylor Made to 32 percent shooting from the floor for the game, including just 4 of 23 from beyond the three point line.

The Warriors and Lady Warriors will travel to Scooba Thursday, Nov. 9, to face the teams from East Mississippi Community College. The women tipoff at 5:30 p.m. and the men at 7:30 p.m. On Monday, Nov. 13, East Central will be in Clarksdale to face Coahoma Community College at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

The next home action is Nov. 20-21 for the EC Classic in Brackeen-Wood Gym. The Lady Warriors will host Lawson State Community College (Birmingham, Ala.) on Nov. 20 and Southern University-Shreveport on Nov. 21, both games at 5 p.m. The Warriors will play Faith Prep Academy (West Memphis, Ark.) on Nov. 20 and Mississippi Delta Community College on Nov. 21, both at 7 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.


Whitney Waters (No. 23) helped the Lady Warriors overcome a nine-point deficit in the final three minutes in the victory over Northwest. (EC Photo)