Pictured above-Charnise Mitchell in action at Bonner Arnold Coliseum against East Miss., on January 26, 2009.

SEXTON THREE PROPELS TIGERS TO DIVISION WIN; LADY TIGERS DROP CLOSE ONE

BOONEVILLE, Miss. --  Northeast Mississippi Community College sophomore guard John Sexton came off a screen on the right side of the Tiger offense, found an open goal and drained the game-winning three-pointer with 11.2 seconds remaining to give the Tigers a 60-58 win, their second win in the North Division.

Sexton, a transfer from The College of William and Mary, knocked down four three-pointers on the night, but none bigger than the one that gave Northeast the lead for good.

Northeast (10-9, 2-4) snuffed out an East Mississippi final possession to preserve the victory.

East Mississippi and Northeast kept the game close throughout, including the Tigers taking a slight lead in the first half behind the efforts of William Burdette and Chris Gamble.

Northeast gained a toehold at the break with a seven-point advantage 36-29, but East Mississippi stayed within striking distance.

East Mississippi (10-7, 3-3) captured its first lead of the second half with 2:48 left in the game when Woodie Howard knocked down a pair of free throws giving the Lions a 57-56 advantage.

After trading freebies over the next 2:30, Sexton was able to separate the Tigers when he hit his fourth three-pointer of the night.

Northeast’s defense stepped up on the night holding the nation’s 17-ranked scorer Coco Ware to just nine points on the night while handing East Mississippi its third straight divisional setback.

Burdette led the Tigers with 19 points and nine rebounds while Sexton knocked down 4-of-7 from beyond the arc en route to a 16-point, six-assist, five-rebound night.

In the opener, East Mississippi was able to slip past Northeast 68-64 after coming back from a 32-28 halftime deficit.

Northeast scratched its way to a four-point halftime advantage after keeping it close with East Mississippi for the first 20 minutes.

Keeping things close was the name of the game in the second half as the two teams exchanged the lead seven times and knotted the contest three more times in the final half.

Northeast (7-10, 2-4 in the North Division) pulled to within one (65-64) with 26 seconds left when McNairy Central’s Erika Wright knocked down a jumper, but the Lady Tigers couldn’t convert from there.

The Lady Tigers only allowed the Lady Lions as much as a five-point cushion with over six minutes to play after Martika Hull pushed the lead to 59-54 on back-to-back makes.

Northeast rallied to pull to within one twice in the final 5:32 including Wright’s bucket with 26 ticks left.

Miranda Phillips led the Lady Tigers with 14 points while Eboni Crayton and Ranisha Williams both chipped in an even dozen for Northeast.

Northeast stays in North Division action for the remainder of the 2008-09 season. After traveling to Holmes Community College on Thursday, Jan. 29, the Tigers and Lady Tigers have back-to-back home dates with Mississippi Delta and Northwest on Feb. 2 and Feb. 5, respectively.

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