Booneville, Miss. - The Northeast Mississippi Community College men's basketball program heavily relied on its sixth man during a crucial matchup in the early stages of the conference schedule.
A rowdy crowd of over 1,000 fans created an unbelievable atmosphere that benefitted the Tigers during a 78-77 victory against Northwest Mississippi Community College on Tuesday, January 12 inside legendary Bonner Arnold Coliseum.
"I can't thank everybody enough that showed up from the students to the fans to the band," said Northeast headman Cord Wright. "Believe it or not, I really think that was the difference in the game. I know our guys fed off it."
It was a back-and-forth battle all night between the two squads that entered the night as the co-leaders of the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) North Division. There were eight lead changes and four other instances in which the score was tied.
Neither team led by more than eight points at any stage of the contest. The Tigers, who are receiving votes in the latest National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) rankings, accumulated nine of the initial 11 points of the matchup.
A Wesley Harris make that was assisted by Tray Lawson gave Northeast (10-3, 3-0) its largest advantage of the entire game at 13-5 less than five minutes into the opening half.
The Rangers responded with a quick spurt of seven consecutive points, including a three-pointer from C.J. Chatman. Northwest jumped ahead for the first time at 23-20 on back-to-back layups by Dre'Kalo Clayton at the 6:47 mark.
Raheem Sorrell was fouled as he placed the roundball off the glass and into the hoop to bring the contest back into a stalemate. But a Keelin Jackson putback and a trey from Clayton allowed the Rangers to enter the locker room with a 38-33 advantage.
Harris made three field goals, including two from beyond the arc, upon the Tigers' return from the break to even the score at 41-41. He went to the bench with 17:40 showing on the clock with four fouls.
Davon Hayes, Kendall Stafford and Lawson pitched in several key buckets to keep Northeast within a minimum of two possessions of Northwest's lead before Harris appeared again with 7:55 remaining in the matchup.
Harris had four quick points that pushed the Tigers ahead 67-66 during the middle of a four-plus minute drought for the Rangers (9-4, 2-1). Lawson eventually put Northeast up for good with 4:01 to play on a free throw.
A basket from Leroy Buchanan increased Northeast's advantage to 78-74 with under one minute to go. The closing moments were filled with drama after Northwest drained three out of four free throws in a span of 17 seconds.
Mark Partee stole an inbounds pass and the Rangers called timeout with 2.1 ticks left. But the Tigers secured the win after Clayton's off-balanced three-point attempt was no good as the horn sounded.
"We just keep finding ways," Wright said. "It's a credit to our guys practicing and playing hard. We have resiliency as a group. It's the sign of a team that's coming along. I'm proud of them."
Five Northeast athletes reached double figures for the initial time since the triumph versus Volunteer State (Tenn.) Community College on November 17. Harris topped the Tigers with 17 points.
Harris was six of nine from the floor overall and perfect from both long distance and the charity stripe. He tied Buchanan with a team-high seven rebounds and did all this in only 16 minutes.
"Working around fouls is hard," said Harris, who is the reigning NJCAA Division I Player of the Week. "That's my fault as a player. But I got it done. I had to play smart and just do what I had to do."
Buchanan dished out four assists to go with his 12 points while the Northeast trio of Hayes, Lawson and Sorrell tabulated 10 points apiece. Stafford barely missed the double-digit plateau with nine points.
"I think everybody was ready to play because it was a big game," Lawson said. "Coming in everybody knew it was a rivalry game. It was a good team effort and we played hard."
The Tigers committed 14 turnovers, which was their third lowest total of the campaign, with just four miscues in the second half. Lawson and Sorrell paced a unit that compiled 40 points in the paint.
(W) Northwest 85, Northeast 77 (OT)
Christy Clark was accurate on only one shot all evening from inside the arc, but it was a critical make that helped the Lady Tigers extend the first contest of the doubleheader for an additional five minutes.
Clark took an inbounds pass, dribbled around a defender and banked in a jumper with 2.8 seconds remaining in regulation. Northwest could not respond and the buzzer sounded with the scoreboard showing 73-73 to signal overtime.
"Coach (Brenda Mayes) had told us that whoever takes the last shot needs to shoot with confidence and that's what I did," she said. "It went in thankfully. We were really excited."
Clark went one of two at the free throw line to give Northeast an early lead in the extra period. Bridgejae Patterson rapidly responded to a Brianna Williams basket with a layup of her own to put the Lady Tigers ahead 76-75.
But the Lady Rangers (8-2, 2-1) accounted for 10 of the final 11 points over a stretch of three minutes and 10 seconds. Averyale Joy and Janesha Johnson both had treys in that interval for Northwest.
"I told the girls the first thing after the game that they played too well and too hard to let that get away," said Mayes, who is in her inaugural season in charge of the Northeast women. "I think we got a little relaxed in the second half and let them start some form of rhythm. That had a bearing on how the game ended up."
The Lady Tigers were exceptional during the first two quarters of the competition. They amassed 49 points by the break with a 51.3 field goal percentage and limited the Lady Rangers to a 22.7 percent ledger from the floor.
Shelby Wilbanks tallied eight of the initial 10 points for Northeast. Patterson connected on a pair of tries from the charity stripe late in the first period that gave the Lady Tigers an 18-13 advantage.
Northeast kept the visitors scoreless for nearly four minutes to begin the second and expanded its lead in the process. Patterson launched what turned into 16 unanswered points by the Lady Tigers with back-to-back buckets.
Timaya Stewart was a key part to that Northeast (6-7, 1-2) run with six points. Dashiyah Agnew and Wilbanks also scored to put the Lady Tigers up 34-13 with 6:53 before halftime.
Northeast pieced together another 9-0 streak that featured a long distance make by Clark plus four more points from Stewart. The Lady Tigers held a 49-30 advantage at the intermission.
Northwest was true on three shots in a row from behind the arc to cut their deficit to 49-39. Northeast expanded its margin back to 62-39 with 13 straight points, including four each for Patterson and Wilbanks.
The Lady Tigers notched only 11 points in the final quarter while the Lady Rangers crept back into the matchup. Two free throws from Sara Lytle pushed Northwest ahead 73-71 before Clark's heroics forced overtime.
Stewart was impressive against the Lady Rangers with her ability to race past defenders to the hoop. The Baldwyn native tied a career-high with 19 points on eight field goals.
"My coaches told me to keep attacking," Stewart said. "I had to focus on making the layup and hitting the square. We work on it a lot in practice so when I get in the game nothing changes."
Wilbanks posted the sixth double-double of her sensational freshman year with 18 points and 12 boards. The Walnut High School graduate has attained double figures during each contest so far this season.
Patterson once again excelled in the post with 16 points and 17 rebounds. The Prattville, Ala., product is averaging 17.8 rebounds per outing over the last four matchups for Northeast.
Clark rounded out the list of double-digit scorers for the Lady Tigers with 11 points. Northeast had 62 boards, which was its second highest total of the campaign, with 14 assists.
Northeast continues action inside the MACJC North Division on Thursday, January 14 at rival Itawamba Community College. Tipoff for the twinbill is set for 6 p.m. at the Davis Event Center.