#52 Charles Mitchell a 6'5" sophomore from Marion, La., drives to the basket against Co-Lin on December 13, 2008 at Bonner Arnold Colisuem.

12/15//08

LADY TIGERS LOSE IN OT, TIGERS RULE IN REGULATION

BOONEVILLE, Miss.-- Northeast Mississippi Community College men and women’s basketball teams were in action Saturday, December 13, at Bonner Arnold Coliseum where they faced Copiah-Lincoln Community College.

The Tigers improved to 7-5 overall defeating the Wolves 81-57 while the Lady Tigers dropped to 5-5 after a one-point 81-80 decision in overtime.

The Lady Tigers faced a tough opponent in the Lady Wolves who entered the game with an overall record of 8-1 and improved to 9-1 following the overtime victory. 

Northeast exchanged the lead with Co-Lin in the first half but managed to take a three-point advantage before the end of the first half 34-31, after the Suzanne Ford nailed a three-pointer to answer a three-point shot made by the Wolves Nadia Collins. 

Collins finished with 19 points and went 5-for-9 from behind the arc while Ford finished with 14 points and went 6-for-6 at the free throw line.

In the second half, the teams continued to swap the lead but the Lady Wolves would eventually pull away and take a nine-point advantage at the 4:44-mark. 

Co-Lin’s advantage didn’t last long, less than a minute later the Lady Tigers went on a 6-0 run, led by Ford’s two free throws and Bionca Hill’s steal and lay-up, followed by Shefarrah Turner’s two freebies that pulled the Lady Tigers to within 69-66 with 2:26 left to play.

“We just weren’t focused at the beginning of the game, and we gave up some easy shots,” said Hill after the game.

After the six-point run, the Lady Tigers used the momentum and tied the game at 71-71 as Charnise Mitchell scored Northeast’s final three points of regulation with a free throw and bucket in the final 57 seconds.

In overtime, the Lady Wolves outscored the Lady Tigers 10-9 and were able to walk-away with a one-point victory 81-80 but not before the Lady Tigers rallied out to a four-point advantage.

Northeast jumped out to a four-point lead with 53.1 seconds left in the extra session when Hill hit a falling away jumper but Co-Lin quickly answered.

Shareka Hunt stuck in a layup with 42 ticks remaining for the Lady Wolves and after a pair of missed free throws by Miranda Phillips; Co-Lin had its chance for the game winner.

Collins atoned for an earlier missed three and sank her fifth three-pointer of the game with 1.6 second left.

In the nightcap, the Tigers had no trouble with the Wolves as they went into halftime with an eight-point lead 39-31 and expanded it to a 63-38 advantage midway through the second half.

The Tigers shot 17-for-27 in field goals (63-percent) in the first half while Co-Lin hit 52 percent of its shots (12-for-23). Northeast only attempted one three-point shot in the first half.

Second half action was all Northeast as Adrian Caldwell added to the lead early nailing a deep three-pointer to put the Tigers up 48-34. 

Caldwell finished with 10 points and went two-for-three from beyond the arc.

Chris Gamble and Caldwell led the way during Northeast 24-7 run to start the second half with Gamble scoring six during the spurt and Caldwell chipping in five.

With 2:14 left to play in the game, Northeast’s Charles Mitchell took the pass from John Sexton and drove down the baseline for the two-handed slam-dunk much to the excitement of the crowd to put the score at 77-51.

“We came out here and played hard after being on a three game losing streak, we were trying to prove a point and get some redemption,” said Mitchell.

Other top scores for the Tigers were Gamble who went 8-for-9 in field goals and finished with 16 points, William Burdette had 12 points, followed by Andre Southern who had 10 points on the afternoon.

Northeast’s bench contributed to the win as the Tigers outscored the Wolves 31-4 with points off the bench.

Northeast will look to add to the winning ways when it returns to campus next year and prepares to face the Wolves once again at Copiah-Lincoln on January 5, 2009. 

Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. for the Lady Tigers and 7 p.m. for the Tigers.

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