Booneville, Miss. - One of the best tournaments in the entire country returns to the grounds of Northeast Mississippi Community College for a second consecutive campaign as a new basketball season gets underway in Hill Country.
The Lady Tigers and Tigers welcome three of the top regional programs to historic Bonner Arnold Coliseum for the 2015 Northeast Tipoff Classic presented by Coca-Cola and Domino's from November 2-3.
Three games will be played each afternoon in the City of Hospitality. Monday's action begins at 3 p.m. while the scheduled tripleheader starts 30 minutes later on Tuesday.
Those that cannot attend the event can watch all six contests live on NEMCCTV, which is the broadcast home of all nine Northeast intercollegiate athletic programs. Join Jeremy Kennedy and Bryan Fenley by visiting www.nemcctv.com on any computer, smartphone or tablet.
Search and follow @NEMCCTigers for live in-game updates on Twitter and interact during the matchups by using the hashtag #TigerPower on all social media platforms.
The annual competition signals the start of a new era for the Lady Tigers. Head coach Brenda Mayes and her assistant Kunshinge Sorrell-Howard officially direct Northeast's women for the first time when they meet Jones County Junior College.
"The excitement is just boiling on the inside," said Mayes. "We're excited about taking the court. We know it's not going to be an easy road and we shouldn't expect that. The girls have been working really hard and they're ready."
The Lady Tigers feature an even mixture of six freshmen and six sophomores. LaKeiya Lane of Southaven guides a group of three starters that are back from one year ago with 11.7 points per outing.
Dashiyah Agnew looks to build on an outstanding inaugural season at Northeast. The Booneville native had a team-high 2.7 assists and also recorded the second most minutes for the Lady Tigers at 25.8.
Shelby Wilbanks paces Northeast's newcomers. She led the Magnolia State in scoring during her senior campaign at Walnut High School while averaging 26.2 points and 7.3 rebounds in the post.
Third-year headman Cord Wright compiled a phenomenal recruiting class to bolster a solid batch of sophomores that includes reigning Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) All-State selection Raheem Sorrell of Corinth.
Among the additions for the Tigers is a trio of athletes that were picked by The Clarion-Ledger as All-State standouts. Leroy Buchanan earned first-team honors by posting 24 points and six boards for Madison Central High School.
Brandon's Tray Lawson garnered second-team recognition with 14.7 points, 3.2 assists and one block per contest. Kendarius Smith helped Velma Jackson High School capture a third consecutive state championship to receive this prestigious award.
Corinth's Desmin Harris is another excellent contributor from the previous campaign that is back for Northeast. He had the second highest free throw percentage at 79.5 and tied for a team-best 1.9 three-point baskets each outing.
"Most importantly, we want to get this group of guys off to a good start in front of our home crowd," Wright said. "Early we just want to see us playing hard. That's the thing we've emphasized the most during practice over the last week."
Baton Rouge (La.) Community College brings its men's squad only to the Booneville campus. Beka Zedelashvili accumulated 4.6 points and 3.9 boards for the Bears last year.
Both Jones County contingents are anticipated to have excellent campaigns. The Bobcats were picked to finish third and the Lady Bobcats fourth in the NJCAA Region 23 preseason predictions.
Northwest Mississippi Community College completes the tournament field. Northeast's MACJC North Division rival will participate in the afternoon session each day.
The Tigers fell twice to Baton Rouge in the first ever meetings between the two institutions last season and defeated then-No. 16 Jones County at the MACJC State Tournament. The Lady Bobcats won the last matchup with Northeast by a score of 78-69 on January 7, 2014.