Booneville, Miss. – Leroy Buchanan secured a big personal milestone during Northeast Mississippi Community College's final tune-up before the start of division play.
Buchanan eclipsed the illustrious 500-point plateau during the Tigers' 95-78 triumph over West Kentucky Community and Technical College on Thursday, December 1 at historic Bonner Arnold Coliseum.
"It's another accomplishment that I've got done," said Buchanan. "I couldn't do it without my teammates. They're a good group of guys and I just have fun around them. I've just been aggressive, attacking and getting easy buckets."
The reigning Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) All-State selection surpassed that prestigious mark quickly with a three-point basket less than two minutes into the matchup.
The Murray State University signee becomes the third Northeast standout to attain this achievement in as many years. He joins a list that includes current University of North Alabama athlete Dimario Jackson and Raheem Sorrell.
"That's a great honor," Northeast head coach Cord Wright said. "With a lot of the season left, that's even a better accomplishment. That's what we signed him here to do and obviously he's done it at a high level."
Even with Buchanan's landmark event, the Tigers fell behind in the early goings for a second consecutive game. The Stars (5-8) built as big as a 19-10 lead with 12:51 left in the first half after an old-fashioned three-point play by DJ Washington.
The Tigers (5-1) quickly stormed back into the contest from that moment. Kendarius Smith got things started for Northeast by accounting for eight consecutive points to cut its deficit to 22-18.
Conner McKay then drilled back-to-back shots from long distance to give the Tigers their initial lead of the matchup at 24-22. Northeast completed its game-changing 22-5 run minutes later with two straight baskets by Buchanan.
The Tigers expanded their advantage to 48-37 by the intermission thanks to solid play from the Buchanan brothers. The duo of Leroy and his younger sibling Shunn poured in the last 10 points of the period for Northeast.
Northeast's lead never dropped below double figures following the break. The Tigers' advantage increased to 62-43 just over five minutes into the half after treys from McKay and Smith.
Malik Morris knocked down a jumper with 4:45 remaining in the contest that pushed Northeast ahead by its largest margin of the evening at 89-66. Terrell Jennings and Marcus Summerville also contributed buckets down the home stretch for the Tigers.
Shunn Buchanan set a new career-high in points for the second outing in a row. The former Clarion-Ledger Dandy Dozen athlete tallied 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting plus a six-of-eight ledger at the charity stripe and also had three assists.
McKay worked his way back into double-digits after a three-game hiatus for Northeast, which is receiving votes in the preseason National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) poll and No. 25 in the Sporting News magazine rankings. He recorded 15 points with a five-of-nine showing from beyond the arc.
"My teammates just told me to keep shooting," said McKay. "I've struggled the last few games with my shot, but they've got faith in me and they keep on finding me. I'm going to shoot it like I can."
Smith notched 16 points and a team-high six assists as well. Zach Hudson and Kendall Stafford had eight boards apiece to top a club that held a plus-10 rebounding edge versus West Kentucky.
The Tigers compiled season-best percentages of 52.1 overall and 40 from three-point range. Northeast had 48 points in the paint and a 30-17 margin over the Stars in bench points.
Northeast opens the MACJC North Division portion of its schedule on Monday, December 5 at Coahoma Community College. The action begins at 6 p.m. with the women's matchup while the men immediately follow at approximately 8 p.m. inside The Pinnacle.