Co-Lin falls to ECCC on the road

DECATUR, Miss. - A late three-pointer from Darius Kent knotted the game at 67-67 on Thursday night and for the fourth time this season sent the Copiah-Lincoln Community College Wolves to overtime. East Central scored early in the bonus frame and pulled away with a 79-76 victory. The loss drops Co-Lin to 6-13, 1-9 and improves the Warriors to 8-11, 3-7. The Wolves are back on the floor in Mullen Gymnasium on Monday, February 10 as Co-Lin faces rival Southwest at 7:30. Fans can watch the action live at www.colinathletics.com/watch or listen live at WMJU 104.3 FM in Brookhaven. 

The Warriors led early in the contest as they built a 9-2 lead over the first four minutes of play, but Co-Lin quickly hit back with a 15-0 run that saw a pair of big three-pointers from JD Allen and big shots from Cameron Woodall and Kent. The offensive push put the Wolves on top 17-9. Co-Lin hung on to that lead for the next 10 minutes before stretching it to 28-17 with back-to-back threes from Kent and Dajon Whitworth. East Central snapped back into the game in the final five minutes of the first half. The Warriors rattled off a 15-0 run down the stretch as ECCC's Kareem Thompson took over the contest. The momentum swing put the Warriors back on top 32-28, but Woodall hit a deep three-pointer at the buzzer of the first half to cut the lead to just one, 32-31, going into the locker rooms. 

East Central quickly built their lead back up in the second half with a pair of threes to open play before growing it to 52-41 midway through the half. With five minutes remaining in regulation, the Wolves began their comeback that sparked by a Demarcus Ellzey three-pointer. Just two minutes later Ellzey drained another three-pointer cutting the lead to just five, 64-59. After trading layups and free throws, Tyree Lomax made a big basket pulling Co-Lin within striking distance, 67-64, with less than a minute to play. After a defensive rebound and a timeout, Co-Lin had possession with a chance to tie. Lomax found Kent who drained the deep ball to tie the game at 67-67. ECCC turned the ball over on the other end sending the contest to overtime.

Jamichael Wilson hit an early three-pointer for East Central in overtime followed by a pair of free throws from Jaquarius Smith. The quick start put the Warriors on top 72-67. Co-Lin battled back in the final minutes, but were never able to re-take the lead, ultimately falling, 79-76. 

Kent and Allen led Co-Lin with 14 points and seven rebounds each. Lance Madison also posted a team-high seven rebounds for the Wolves. Woodall and Lomax rounded out the top scorers with 13 points each, while Lomax dished a team-best four assists. Thompson led ECCC with 20 points, while Smith added 18. Timothy McElroy Jr. finished with a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double. 

The Wolves shot 38 percent (24-of-64) from the floor, 39 percent (13-of-33) from three-point range, and 63 percent (15-of-24) from the free-throw line. The Warriors shot 39 percent (28-of-71) from the floor, 29 percent (7-of-24) from downtown, and 70 percent (16-of-23) from the stripe. The Warriors outrebounded Co-Lin 48-45.