Booneville, Miss. - The Northeast Mississippi Community College basketball programs are ready for their inaugural tests away from the City of Hospitality during the second week of the 2015-16 campaign.
The Lady Tigers and Tigers visit regional opponent Baton Rouge (La.) Community College on Thursday, November 12. The action starts at 5:30 p.m. with the women's contest from the Bonne Sante Wellness Center.
Both Northeast teams also have one more date inside Bonner Arnold Coliseum prior to their road trip. The Lady Tigers welcome Jackson State (Tenn.) Community College while the Tigers host Bethel (Tenn.) University's junior varsity squad beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 10.
Those that cannot attend the home doubleheader can watch it live on NEMCCTV, which is the broadcast home of all nine Northeast intercollegiate athletic programs. Join Jeremy Kennedy, the Voice of the Tigers, at 5:15 p.m. for the pregame show 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 Tigers showcased their offensive prowess during their initial contests of the new year. Northeast leads the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) with a solid 93 points per game.
Wesley Harris paced the Tigers off the bench. The Callaway High School graduate is among the top 25 athletes nationally with 21.5 points each outing and also adds team-highs of 8.5 rebounds and one block.
Madison Central High School alumnus Leroy Buchanan was also outstanding for Northeast during its annual tournament. He accumulated the most minutes of any Tiger with a total of 49 and had 29 points from the guard position.
Kendarius Smith began his career on the Booneville campus with two consecutive double-digit outings. The Camden native also has an identical 66.7 field goal and three-point percentages, which is a team-best for Northeast.
The Tigers are excellent on the offensive glass and currently place second in the Magnolia State behind only Northwest Mississippi Community College with 16.5 boards per contest on that side of the floor. Harris guides that effort with an average of 5.5.
Northeast (1-1) also tops the conference in steals with 12 each matchup. Joining Harris in a stalemate with a team-high 1.5 swipes is Antonio Dodson, Desmin Harris, Kendall Stafford, Buchanan and Smith.
"We've had a chance to self-evaluate the team and each player since we've been off a week," said Tigers headman Cord Wright. "Our guys have responded well to the constructive criticism and we look forward to putting together two good team performances."
Bethel (1-5) is participating in its second contest in as many days after hosting Southwest Tennessee Community College on Monday. The lone victory so far this season for the Wildcats came against the College of Faith (Ark.).
Karim El-Amin had 17 points for the Bears (0-3) during their initial meeting of the campaign against Northeast. Freshman forward Devante Marshall directs Baton Rouge with averages of 17 points and nine boards.
First-year Lady Tigers head coach Brenda Mayes was impressed at the high level of energy and the work ethic of her squad during their opener. Her goal is to build upon that start for the remainder of the season.
"I hope that we continue to have the effort that we had in our first game," she said. "I believe that after working out some of the kinks that we had that we'll be better prepared to take on our next challenges."
Dashiyah Agnew showcased her wide variety of skills during the inaugural outing of her sophomore campaign at Northeast. The Booneville product had 17 points, six assists, five boards, two steals and also took one charge.
Walnut's Shelby Wilbanks was dynamic for the Lady Tigers (0-1) as well. She accumulated 15 points to go with a team-best six rebounds in 36 minutes of action in the post.
Jackson State (1-3) relies heavily on the long distance shot and is seventh in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) with 29.8 three-point attempts per matchup.
Baton Rouge has dropped three straight games after beginning the campaign with an unblemished mark through two tilts. The Lady Bears (2-3) split their yearly series with Northeast one season ago.