The East Mississippi Community College men’s basketball team continued its upward trend Monday night by claiming a thrilling 84-82 overtime home win over 10th-ranked Shelton State Community College of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, at EMCC’s Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.
Jakorie Smith’s four free throws and a Blake Butler basket put EMCC on top 70-67 with 38.3 seconds remaining in regulation. Antonio Thomas’ game-tying 3-pointer with 23.4 seconds left then set the stage for a dramatic finish to regulation that extended the instant classic.
Willie Johnson capped an impressive 18-point second half by converting an EMCC miscue into a three-point play to give Shelton State a 73-70 lead with 4.5 ticks left on the clock. With the Lions having to go the length of the floor, Butler found Danny Washington at the top of the key for a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the contest into overtime.
The lead changed hands three times at the beginning of the extra session before Smith sank two more free throws and then converted a three-point play to give the Lions an 82-78 lead with 2:18 remaining. Johnson scored on two more drives to the rim plus two free throws to knot the score at 82-82 with 25.4 seconds remaining.
Butler was isolated one-on-one during EMCC’s final possession and came through with the game-winning floater in the lane. Shelton State had one last rushed opportunity, but Thaddeus Williams’ deep 3-point attempt misfired as the final buzzer sounded.
The Lions came out sharp following the Thanksgiving break by scoring the game’s first 9 points. Once the visitors settled in, the teams battled to within a 6-point margin for the remainder of the game. The Bucs grabbed a narrow 37-36 halftime lead with a late 8-2 run heading into intermission.
The second half featured five ties and six lead changes. After the Lions grabbed two five-point leads with the help of second-chance points off offensive rebounds and timely contributions off the bench, Shelton State moved ahead by three points late in the half.
The Lions (5-2) featured balanced scoring with four players in double figures. Smith and Butler tallied 19 points apiece in addition to 7 and 6 rebounds, respectively. Butler also handed out 5 assists. Nick Walker registered his 10th career double-double and fifth of the season with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds. Washington finished with 13 points, including three 3-pointers.
Shelton State’s Johnson led all scorers with 29 points, while Andres Burney and Thomas followed with 17 and 10 points, respectively.
Women’s basketball
Shelton State 85, East Mississippi 47: The visiting Lady Bucs proved why they’re ranked sixth nationally with a dominating victory.
The women’s contest was all Shelton State. With EMCC failing to make a field goal through the opening 10 minutes, the Lady Bucs mounted a 23-3 lead after one quarter. The lead grew to 45-14 by halftime.
Shelton State’s lead grew to 40 points at 81-41 late in the game on Taylor Smith’s 3-pointer.
Shelton State owned a 44-28 rebounding advantage and outshot EMCC 55 percent (38 of 69) to 29 percent (17 of 59) from the floor.
For EMCC (3-4), Kyunna Thomas recorded her fifth double-double with 14 points, including 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting during the second half, and 10 rebounds. Siarra Jackson’s team-high 16 points featured 5-of-8 shooting from the field and 6 of 7 from the line.
Jemeriah Moore and Nya Valentine paced Shelton State’s quintet of double-digit scorers with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Smith added 14 points followed by Asia Barclay (12) and Maya Cunningham (10).
The East Mississippi basketball teams will open the MACCC regular-season schedule Thursday by taking on Northwest Mississippi. The women’s teams will square off at 6 p.m. in Scooba, while the men’s teams will play at the same time at Howard Coliseum in Senatobia.
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East Mississippi's Jakorie Smith finished with 19 points and 7 rebounds Monday night during the Lions' 84-82 overtime victory over Shelton State in Scooba. Courtesy of East Mississippi Athletics
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