BOONEVILLE, Miss. - The Northeast Mississippi Community College men's basketball team is welcoming its fans into historic Bonner Arnold Coliseum one last time this season with the stakes once again high.
The Tigers host Delgado (La.) Community College in the quarterfinals of the 2021 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 23 Tournament at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 6.
The winner moves on to the semifinal round against either Hinds Community College or Southwest Mississippi Community College. That game is scheduled for Thursday, April 8 at Mississippi College's A.E. Wood Coliseum.
General admission tickets are available for a cost of $7 by clicking HERE. Northeast students, faculty and staff, 6th Man Club members and parents or family of players on a pass list will continue to receive free admission with valid identification.
Those that cannot attend the contest can watch it live and in high definition on the Black Channel of NEMCCTV. Tune in beginning at 5:50 p.m. for the pregame show by visiting www.nemcctv.com or the "Northeast Mississippi Community College" app on Amazon and Roku television devices.
The Northeast Broadcasting Network also includes radio affiliate WOWL Fun 91. An audio simulcast featuring Jody Presley and Carter Smith, the Voices of the Tigers, can be heard on frequencies 91.9 FM from Burnsville, 92.9 FM from Florence, Ala., and 102.3 FM from Killen, Ala.
Northeast and the Dolphins have met just twice over the last 31 years with both games occurring in this very event. The Tigers won the most recent matchup in 2000 on the way to securing a berth to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kan.
Delgado finished as the runner-up in the Louisiana Community College Athletic Conference (LCCAC) standings. The 10th-seeded Dolphins went on the road defeated Meridian Community College by a score of 69-68 in the second round.
The No. 2 seed Tigers recorded a 69-68 victory of their own against Baton Rouge (La.) Community College to reach this point. Northeast is the co-Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) champions.
"The thing that this team continues to do is find ways," said Tigers head coach Cord Wright. "We're tough defending and rebounding every night so that gives us a chance if we make our free throws and not turn the ball over."
Madison Central High School graduate Jalin Rice continues to top a balanced Northeast (13-3) offensive unit with 12.9 points per outing. Five other Tigers average between seven and 11 points as well.
Ladarrius Spears of Okolona guides Northeast with a 51.2 field goal percentage while Ken Lewis from Center Hill High School has a team-best 40.8 percent success rate from three-point range.
This matchup features two of the best rebounders in the entire country. Delgado's Jalvin Mitchell is tied for 14th in the NJCAA with 10.1 boards per game while Zeke Cook of Starkville is not far behind with 9.1 per game for the Tigers.
The Dolphins (9-6) are led by the duo of Brandon Davis and Donte Mitchell, who average nearly identical figures of 16.6 and 16.5 points. Delgado accumulates 84.7 points each contest.
"They've got three or four guards that can really score the basketball," Wright said. "For us, it's going to be a matter of our guys being able to guard the ball and making sure we don't get beat off the dribble. We've just got to have a war on the glass and win that area."