JACKSON — Junior forward Ill’yan Scott helped the Mississippi University for Women’s men’s basketball team make history Sunday afternoon.
Scott had a team-high 20 points off the bench to lead The W to a 66-64 overtime victory against Howard Payne University in its final game at the Millsaps Thanksgiving Classic.
The win is the first in program history for The W (1-5).
“(I’m) incredibly proud of my guys today,” The W coach Brian Merkel said. “They fought and fought through adversity and were finally able to come out with a win. Every single guy on our roster contributed in a positive way. It was great to see their hard work pay off.”
Scott, a native of Pascagoula, was 7-for-9 from the field and 5-for-7 from the free-throw line in 25 minutes. He also had seven rebounds, one assist, two steals, and two blocked shots.
Junior guard Keith Harris scored 15 points, senior forward D.J. Clark had 12 points and eight rebounds, and junior guard Carlos Wilkerson added 10 points and seven rebounds.
n On Saturday, Clark had 22 points and 15 rebounds in an 86-63 loss to the University of Dallas.
“We had a chance to win but couldn’t get enough stops down the stretch,” Merkel said. “We’ve got to continue to focus on doing the little things to get over the hump. The effort is there; we just need to continue to focus on the little things.”
Tre Pinkston, Scott, and Skinner scored in double figures for the Owls. Pinkston, a junior guard, had 16 points and four assists. Scott had 14 points, six rebounds, and two blocks, while Skinner had 10 points with two assists, two rebounds, and one block.
The W will play host to Tougaloo College on Tuesday in a doubleheader. The women’s game will start at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men’s game.
n William Carey 78, Southern Mississippi 72: At Hattiesburg, Former Columbus High School standout hit three 3-pointers and had 11 points Sunday to lead the Crusaders, the No. 10 NAIA team in the nation, to a victory against the Golden Eagles.
The game was classified as an exhibition game for William Carey (2-3), while Southern Mississippi, a Division I team, slipped to 4-2.
William Carey used an 8-2 run powered by back-t-back 3-pointers to take a 68-67 lead with 5 minutes, 45 seconds remaining. McDavid, who was 3-for-4 from 3-point range, hit a 3-pointer to kick the lead to five with 3:52 left. Leito Holloway hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to push the lead back to five points with 1:30 to go.
The Crusaders hit 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch to seal the deal.
Ryan McRaney led William Carey with 12 points, while Holloway, Branden Sheppard, and Brandon Cranford had 11.
Tyree Griffin had 16 points, and Cortez Edwards had 12 for Southern Miss. Former New Hope High standout Tyler Stevenson had four points and two rebounds.
“For our team to be successful, we have to play with a passion and an edge,” Southern Miss coach Doc Sadler said. “We aren’t doing that. We can’t score inside unless we have an edge on the perimeter. We were up 10 and took some bad shots, and should have been going in for the basket and giving ourselves free-throw opportunities. Instead, we settled for jump shots.”
Southern Miss will play host South Alabama at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
n No. 15 Mississippi State men will play host to Alcorn State: At Starkville, the No. 15 Mississippi State men’s basketball team will play host to Alcorn State at 7 p.m. Monday at Humphrey Coliseum.
MSU (4-1) is coming off a loss to Arizona State and a victory against Saint Mary’s in Las Vegas. In its first three home games, MSU won by an average of 24.7 points.
Alcorn State will play its third game in four days, and its second Southeastern Conference opponent. Alcorn State lost to Vanderbilt 79-54 on Nov. 16 in Nashville, Tennessee.
n Alabama men’s basketball team will play host to Murray State: At Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the Alabama men’s basketball team will play host to Murray State at 7 p.m. Monday at Coleman Coliseum.
Alabama (4-1) went 2-1 at the Charleston Classic and finished fifth in the event.
Murray State (3-0) will play its first road game of the year.
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