BOONEVILLE, Miss. - One of the most festive nights of the entire academic year is returning in advance of a promising new basketball season at Northeast Mississippi Community College.
The Lady Tigers and Tigers will unofficially tipoff their respective campaigns with the fifth annual Late Night Madness event on Tuesday, October 15 at 8 p.m. inside historic Bonner Arnold Coliseum.
"It's a little warm-up to give the school and community an opportunity to see what's in store for the season," said Lady Tigers head coach Brenda Mayes. "The student body also gets to get involved and participate in different activities and that's exciting."
Players and coaches from both programs will connect with their fans throughout the approximately two-hour long exhibition. Each team plus the cheerleaders will be recognized to begin the evening.
The Tigers will display their high-flying capabilities with a slam dunk competition while the Lady Tigers compete in a hot shot contest with the goal of accumulating as many points as possible by shooting from predetermined locations on the court.
Both the men and ladies will showcase their range from long distance with a three-point contest. Fans will also join the Lady Tigers and Tigers on the floor for a special knockout shooting game.
The Domino's pizza restaurant in Booneville is giving Northeast students that are in attendance a chance to win some fantastic prizes such as free pizza throughout the night.
The Lady Tigers and Tigers wrap up the festivities with a pair of 10-minute intrasquad scrimmages. The women go first at approximately 9:30 p.m. with the men to immediately follow.
"It's a perfect time for this because we'll have practiced two hard weeks," Tigers headman Cord Wright said. "It'll give us a little break to have some fun and just enjoy some of the aspects of basketball. It's a good night for our community and student body. It's always been a great turnout."
Northeast opens its 2019-20 campaign with four consecutive home dates beginning on Thursday, November 7 against Volunteer State (Tenn.) Community College. All home doubleheaders this season start at 5:30 p.m. with the women's matchup.
The Lady Tigers and Tigers both reached the state and regional tournaments one year ago. Northeast's men were ranked as highly as No. 23 by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) last season as well.
For more information about Late Night Madness, contact Mayes at 662-720-7887 or by email at bamayes@nemcc.edu or Wright at 662-720-7241 or by email at cdwright@nemcc.edu.