Coahoma Tigers Take Conference Top Spot, Lady Tigers Fall to Northwest

5/16/13

CLARKSDALE – The Coahoma Community College Tigers brought their lunch Thursday night as they hosted the Rangers of Northwest, but the Tigers came away holding the top spot in the conference by downing Northwest 87-84. The Lady Tigers came from behind to put their game into overtime, but lost to Northwest 70-64 win.

In the Tigers league leading game, Coahoma overcame a 13-point deficit with a screaming home crowd in their favor while the Rangers lead 68-55 at 8:34 left in the second half. The Tigers had taken an early 6-0 lead, but then fell behind by as much as 13 points in the first half, 8-13 at the 10 minute mark. The Tigers went into the dressing at the half behind by only one, 40-39.

Alex Thompson and Patrick Brown, leading all scorers with 22 points each, teamed up with 8:34 left in the game, and in a two-minute span, erased a 13-point deficit to tie the game at 70-all with 7:06 left to play. Thompson was fouled while making a basket and completed the three-point play the old fashion way. Jonathan Ankston, netting 18 points for the game, added a two-pointer before Thompson erupted the crowd with a dunk, cutting the lead to 62-70. Brown and Thompson then swapped three-point baskets and Brown added a two point basket to tie the game 70-all with 7:06 left to play.

With :49 left, the Rangers had a two-point lead, 84-82, and Stacy Regular stepped up to net his only three pointer of the night to give the Tigers a one-point edge, 85-84 at :32. With :11 left, Brown was fouled and added two free throws, 87-84. After a timeout from Coach Ira Peterson, the Tigers stepped back onto the court, stealing the ball and holding off the Rangers to take the lead in the league.

The game was tied 10 times throughout the night, but the Tigers dominated most of the statistics. Coahoma held the edge on the boards, 34-29; Brown grabbed six, Darcee Carson grabbed five defensive and one offense board, and Alan Morris had four defensive and three offensive boards. The Tigers swished 12 of 29 three-points compared to the Rangers’ 11 of 24. Using a balanced attack, the Tigers tallied 14 assists on offense while totaling 13 steals on defense, the last steal of the game spelled the victory.

The Rangers had four men in double figures: Kenyatta Jones, 19; Dajon Reno, 15; DeMarcus McVay, 13; and Dominique Harris, 10.

In the Lady Tigers’ game, Coahoma took an early 6-0 lead, but the game was tied 12-12 at the 10 minute mark. The Lady Rangers took a 10-point lead at 3:17 in the first half with a three-point corner shot. The Lady Tigers fought back with Breanna Wiley, Antoinette Mayfield, Bridgette Griffin leading the charge to cut the lead by four at the half.

The Lady Rangers led by as many as nine points in the second half, but the Lady Tigers just kept chipping away at the lead. Northwest was leading 59-55 with less than a minute to play when CCC’s Krystal Pearson stepped up with a much-needed three point basket with :12 left to cut the lead, 59-58. Northwest sank one of two free throws for a 60-58 lead.

The Lady Tigers got the ball back with just :07 left. CCC’s Wiley got an offensive rebound and drove to the basket to sink the tying shot at the buzzer, 60-all. In overtime, the Lady Rangers outscored the Tigers for a 70-64 lead.

CCC’s Wiley shared the leading scorer honors with Northwest’s Shaquilla Isom with both scoring 21 points. Nikki McChristian and Monique Biggins both netted 14 points for the visitors while the Lady Tigers’ Griffin and Mayfield scored in double figures, 12 and 10 points respectively.

Coahoma led the boards with 45 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards with Wiley leading the way with a 14-5 edge while the visitors held a 27-13 stat. The Lady Tigers suffered 18 turnovers including 13 steals from the Lady Rangers. The Lady Tigers fall to 3-11 on the season.