Pictured above-Rictavian Knight and Coach David Robbins discuss the plan of action for the second half against the Trojans in Moorhead, Miss., on January 8, 2009.

TIGERS, LADY TIGERS GET ROUGH WELCOME IN DIVISION PLAY

BOONEVILLE, Miss.-- Northeast Mississippi Community College men and women’s basketball teams were in action Thursday, January 8, in Moorhead, where they faced the Mississippi Delta Community College Trojans in a North Division match-up.

The Tigers fell to 7-7 overall and 0-2 in the North Division after a nine-point loss (77-68) to the Trojans, while the Lady Tigers dropped to 5-7 overall and 0-2 in the division on the year losing to the Lady Trojans 77-67.

Coach Ford’s Lady Tigers looked to avenge the 45-point loss they suffered on January 5 to Copiah-Lincoln when they faced the Lady Trojans who split with the Lady Wolves earlier this season. 

National Junior College Athletic Association Pre-Season All-American Eboni Crayton, a sophomore guard from McNairy Central, Tenn., led the Lady Tigers in their efforts scoring 21 points and shooting 5-of-6 from the free throw line along with seven boards. 

“We came out ready to play tonight, a lot more than we did against Co-Lin.,” Crayton said. “I feel like we played hard but we have to learn not to hang our heads down when we make mistakes.”

Northeast shot 0-for-10 from behind the arc and only hit 27-percent from the floor (10-of-37) in the first half but found themselves only down by four at the half 48-44.

In the second half the Lady Trojans pulled away with the game at the 9-minute mark where they led by nine points 51-42 and never looked back. 

Delta’s Jessica Ayers, a 5’7” sophomore guard from Greenville, led the way for the Lady Trojans with a double-double, scoring 23 points and landing 14 rebounds on the night.

Over on the men’s side, the Tigers found themselves in a tight contest against the 5-7 Trojans. 

Northeast Men’s Coach David Robbins team came out aggressive as the Tigers shot 15-of-30 (50-percent) from the floor, 3-of-8 from three-point land, and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe taking a one-point lead into the locker room 36-35.

The Tigers quickly watched their one-point lead slip away at the start of the second half, as the Trojans opened on a 9-0 run to take a 45-36 lead and never looked back . 

Northeast battled back led by double-digit scoring from the Yazoo County sophomore guard Andre Southern and Rictavian Knight, a sophomore guard from Shelby Broad Street.

Southern shot 5-of-6 at the free-throw line and 6-of-13 from the floor while finishing with 19 points, while Knight hit 2-of-4 from downtown finishing with 11 points.

One of Knight’s three point shots came at the 1:11-mark at the end of the game that brought the Tigers within four at 72-68. 

Northeast will look to put an end to the two-game losing skid when it faces rival Northwest in another North Division match-up Monday, January 12, in Senatobia.

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

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