East Mississippi Community College cleared space in the trophy case for the school’s first national championship in football in December.
The Lions would like to add some basketball hardwood to that case.
No. 15 EMCC departs today for Hutchinson, Kansas, where it will play No. 1 South Plains College (Texas) at 10 a.m. Tuesday in an opening-round game of the NJCAA National Championship tournament at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
The five-day, 16-team, double-elimination event includes EMCC for a third straight time as the District 15 representative.
EMCC secured that bid by defeating Southern-Shreveport 63-49 in the championship game of the Region XXIII tournament two weeks ago on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton.
“When you start the season, this is the No. 1 goal,” EMCC fifth-year coach Mark White said. “We feel really blessed to be in this position again. It is a credit to the hard work of these young men. They have made the sacrifice and responded to every challenge. That is why we are in this position.”
EMCC may have arguably the toughest draw. South Plains is undefeated at 32-0. This four-team mini-bracket also includes Monroe College (N.Y.) and Indian Hills C.C.-Ottumwa (Iowa). Both teams are 30-3. EMCC went 23-4 en route to its third straight MACJC North Division championship.
After being ranked No. 7 in the preseason, EMCC slipped from the rankings and then worked its way through a difficult non-league schedule. In November, EMCC lost to Northwest Florida State College and Shelton State College. It then won 16 straight games before falling to Coahoma C.C. in its regular-season finale.
In the state tournament, EMCC bowed out with a semifinal loss to Pearl River C.C. EMCC made amends for that setback by eliminating PRCC a week later in the region tournament.
“It is no secret it starts for us on the defensive end,” White said. “It takes a special type of player to buy into our system. We pride ourselves on defending and rebounding. If you are successful at doing those two things, that always gives you a chance to win every night.”
Former Brandon High School standout D.J. Evans leads EMCC with 15.9 points per game. Phoenix, Ariz., native Colin Borchert is next at 15.5 points per game.
Former West Oktibbeha County standout Deon Bedford also has emerged as a sophomore to play a key role.
All tournament games will air live on NJCAA TV, powered by iHigh.com, at www.njcaatv.ihigh.com. Fans will be able to follow the action with updated results and statistics along with additional tournament information at www.njcaabbtrny.org.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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