Clarksdale, Miss. – Both Northeast Mississippi Community College basketball programs opened Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) North Division play with a pair of big results.
The Lady Tigers started the evening with a 76-59 victory over Coahoma Community College while the Tigers secured a thrilling 72-65 decision in the nightcap on Monday, December 5 at The Pinnacle.
The women's contest featured a back-and-forth first quarter that included three lead changes and three other instances in which the score was tied. Northeast finally took control following an offensive rebound and putback by Alivia Hughes at the 3:18 mark.
The Lady Tigers expanded their advantage to two possessions with two straight baskets by Timaya Stewart and Shelby Wilbanks. Northeast maintained that margin at 20-16 entering the second period.
A 9-2 run midway through the second allowed the Lady Tigers to take their inaugural double-digit lead. LaKeiya Lane drilled a key three-pointer while Stewart poured in two field goals in that span.
Coahoma got back within 33-30 behind two treys in a row from Tya Edwards and Tomaja Shaw. But the host Lady Tigers (1-8, 0-1) were held to just two points by Northeast in the last three minutes of the half.
The visiting Lady Tigers outscored Coahoma 12-2 during its drought. Tyra Tucker and Joy Johnson had big makes down the stretch that helped Northeast take a 45-32 lead into the locker room.
The Lady Tigers preserved their double-figure advantage throughout the second half. Northeast's defense put together another impressive performance in the third by limiting the Lady Tigers to only eight points.
Aundrea Adams gave the Lady Tigers (3-3, 1-0) their biggest lead of the entire night at 66-45 with 7:06 remaining in the game on a bucket in the paint that was assisted by Marley Long.
Long drained a three-pointer and accounted for three assists in the fourth alone. Teosha Boyd and Maddison Crudup both came off the bench to provide two dimes in the final stanza as well.
"We wanted to make sure we started off on the right track," said Northeast head coach Brenda Mayes. "I think they were just up and ready for it. We had a good combination of people doing the right things at the right time."
Stewart was a catalyst for the Lady Tigers, especially during the first half of the competition. She accumulated 16 of her game-high 20 points in the initial two quarters on the backs of a 7-of-10 showing from the floor.
"My coaches told me to make sure that I attack the gaps," Stewart said. "For the offense that we were running, I just went with the flow of the game. It felt really great and I just hope we continue getting W's."
Wilbanks pieced together another solid outing with 19 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. It was her second consecutive double-double and the 13th of her exceptional tenure in the City of Hospitality.
"I'm really excited to get back into the groove of things," said Wilbanks. "I feel like our team did good. We all contributed and were ready. We got under control and kept it to where it needed to be."
Adams barely missed a double-double of her own with 16 points, including team-best 72.7 field goal percentage, and eight boards. Hughes registered a season-high seven points as well for Northeast.
The Lady Tigers had 56 rebounds and six blocks, which are both the highest totals this year to date. Northeast had 11 more assists than their adversary and also compiled 48 points in the paint.
The men's matchup saw the Tigers, who are receiving votes in the preseason National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) poll and are No. 25 in the Sporting News magazine rankings, secure a third straight come-from-behind win.
Coahoma connected on five three-pointers in the first six minutes of the contest to quickly move ahead 17-6. The homestanding Tigers (1-8, 0-1) kept their lead at or near double digits for a majority of the opening half.
Darius Williams got Northeast going with a trey of his own with 6:03 showing on the clock before the intermission. The Tigers cut their deficit to 32-28 moments later following a Leroy Buchanan free throw plus a putback off an offensive board by Kelvin Jackson.
The combo of Kendarius Smith and Buchanan made three shots from the charity stripe in the last 75 seconds of the half to bring the shortfall for Northeast (6-1, 1-0) to 36-31 at the break.
The Tigers finally got back within one possession of their opponent less than three minutes into the second on another couple of free tosses from Smith. However, Northeast did not take the lead from Coahoma until there was only 1:52 left in the game.
Defense set the stage for the Tigers to pull off their late magic. Northeast held the Tigers scoreless for nearly four minutes to close the matchup, outrebounded them by a 6-1 clip and forced two crucial turnovers.
The Tigers capitalized offensively as well in that interval with a game-winning 12-0 run. Williams initiated Northeast's spurt at the 2:57 mark with a shot from beyond the arc that was assisted by Smith.
Buchanan pushed the Tigers up 66-65 with an off-balanced layup from under the rim. Shunn Buchanan followed his brother with two baskets in the waning seconds, including a trey that put the contest out of reach for Coahoma.
"I'm proud of our guys for just hanging in there," Northeast headman Cord Wright said. "Figuring out a way to win by one is all we're trying to do. We didn't play anywhere near our best basketball, but at the end of the day we came on the road and got a win."
Williams tied a career-best with 20 points to guide the Tigers. He was 6-of-11 from the floor, which included a trio of three-pointers, and added six boards to his phenomenal performance.
"I really had to step up," said Williams. "The past couple of games I've been rebounding, but I haven't shot the ball all that much. But tonight I really got to. We all came together and finished it off."
Smith tallied 15 points and matched the team-high for dimes with three. He paced a Northeast squad that made a season-best 22 free throws with a seven-of-eight ledger from the charity stripe.
"We had to come back and redeem ourselves," Smith said. "It's very big. I'm a winning person and will do whatever it takes. We had to be aggressive in the second half. We came out and did that."
The Buchanan brothers rounded out the list of top scorers for the Tigers with Leroy's 11 points and seven for Shunn. Jackson was stellar as well for Northeast with six points and eight rebounds.
The Tigers notched a 43.8 field goal percentage with a plus-six differential on the boards. Northeast also had an edge in points off turnovers at 19-13 and forced over 20 turnovers for the fifth time this year.