Unbeaten set to square off in ECCC tourney

By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
Dec. 5, 2002
DECATUR After taking tonight off, several unbeaten basketball seasons will get put to the test over the next two days in the East Central Community College Classic.
In girls' winners' bracket play on Friday, Newton County, 8-0, takes on Newton, 4-3, at 4 p.m. with West Lauderdale, 10-0, facing Lake, 5-0, in the 7 p.m. contest. In the girls' losers' bracket, Morton faces Scott Central, 4-5, at 4 p.m. with Enterprise taking on Neshoba Central, 0-8, at 7 p.m.
In the boys' winners' bracket, Morton, 8-1, takes on Northeast Lauderdale, 4-6, at 5:30 p.m. with West Lauderdale, 9-0, facing Neshoba Central, 7-1, at 8:30 p.m. In the boys' losers' bracket, Nanih Waiya, 1-1, faces off with Enterprise, 0-8, at 5:30 p.m. with Newton County, 1-5, meeting Sebastopol at 8:30 p.m.
Winners' bracket games will be played in the Brackeen-Wood Physical Education Building with the losers playing on the ECCC South campus.
Newton girls 56
Nanih Waiya 54
Twila Clayton's steal of an inbounds pass and quick score with four seconds left snapped a 54-54 tie after Nanih Waiya had erased an eight-point deficit to pull even.
Newton, 4-3, led 21-14 after one period only to have Nanih Waiya rally to within 32-29 by halftime. The teams were knotted at 42-42 heading into the fourth quarter.
Clayton led Newton with 15 points,. Creoshia Williams scored 14, Kotreece Bender had 13, and Aja Loveless added seven.
Nanih Waiya, 2-1, got 19 points from Heather Steele, 17 from Ashley Pugh, nine from Christy Hickman, and seven from Cynthia Madison.
Northeast boys 63
Lake 56
The Trojans jumped out to a 24-11 first quarter lead and carried a 40-21 advantage into halftime as they improved to 4-6.
Northeast held a 55-32 lead going into the final period in which Lake claimed a 24-8 advantage.
Marcus Betts hit five 3-pointers in leading Northeast with 20 points. Alex Ford scored 15, Greg Powell had 12, and Antonio Clayton and Maurice Langston had six each.
Lake, 4-2, got 21 points from Willie Hickmon, nine from Dexter Donald, and eight from Ivon Hickmon.
W. Lauderdale girls 57
Sebastopol 38
The Lady Knights led 32-15 at halftime in upping their record to 10-0. West held a 42-20 advantage through three periods.
J.J. Huggins led West with 18 points. Shannon Lloyd scored 10, Kristina Gardner eight, and Patty Monroe seven. Lloyd also had nine rebounds, while Huggins had eight.
Sophomore Ashley Johnson led Sebastopol, 5-4, with 19 points. Tamika Triplett scored 10.
Neshoba C. boys 50
Newton County 44
The Rockets improved to 7-1 with the six-point win. Trailing 41-33 through three periods, the Rockets held the Cougars to just three free throws over the final eight minutes. The 17-3 scoring advantage gave Neshoba Central its second win over Newton County this season.
Neshoba Central got 18 points from Calvin Parker, 14 from Eric Truss, and seven from Anthony Jones.
Mylan Anderson led Newton County, 1-5, with 15 points. Ricardo Alcantar scored eight and Craig Pruitt tossed in seven.
Morton boys 72
Newton 60
Chris Lloyd scored 28 points and Andrew Lewis had 23 to lead Morton, 8-1, past the Tigers. Lloyd had three 3-pointers. Morton also got 10 points from Justin Ficklin.
Newton, 2-4, got 30 points from Coshune Bingham, 13 from Laderrian Blaylock, and eight from Cornelius Caraway.
Newton Co. girls 58
Northeast 50
The Lady Cougars also kept their perfect season alive with the eight-point win. In improving to 8-0, Newton County got 14 points from Phyllis Cole, 13 from freshman Lynnesha Ramsey, 11 from Andrea Dubose, eight from Dominique Mapp, and seven from Kristin Chaney.
Shaquita Bell led Northeast with 23 points, 13 of which came in the fourth quarter. Crystal Hopson scored 12, Quin Jackson had eight, and Shalonda McDonald added six.
Lake girls 53
Neshoba Central 47
The Lady Hornets got 18 points from Kim Cox and 14 from Roxana Rogers in handing the Lady Rockets their eighth consecutive loss.
Neshoba Central led 10-8 after one quarter only to have Lake take a 23-21 lead into halftime. The Lady Hornets built their lead up to 38-29 to start the fourth quarter.
Lake, 5-0, also got six points each from Shariece Towner and April Viverette.
Neshoba Central, 0-8, got 17 points from India Backstrom, 13 from Krystal Wells, and 10 from Joni Willis.
W. Lauderdale 76
Scott C. boys 37
The Knights stayed unbeaten as they improved to 9-0 with the 39-point win. West raced out to a 27-6 first quarter lead and took a 44-21 lead into halftime.
West got 18 points from Calvin Moore, 16 from Boo Ramsey, seven each from Lee Nelson and Rayshun Hopson, and six each from Mark Ford, Charles Andrews, and Karlos Lewis.
Roderick Loper hit three 3-pointers in leading the Rebels, 6-4, with 21 points.