1995

WEEK 0 F _ __..._! _--.~1L-._~i .J..j~t!__ ___

East Central anxious about tournament

By Gary Myers The Mendian Star Anxious best describe ... thE feelings of East Central Community College basket– ball coaches Sammy Pace and Marty Cooper. Both teams haven't played in over three weeks. and the coaches are looking forward to seeing what the second half of the season has to offer. They will get that chance Monday and Tuesday as ECCC hosts its post-holiday invitational. "We hope this tournament will help us get the Christmas break out of our system and help us tune-up for the tough South Division games ahead," said Pace, the ECCC women's coach. The action kicks off Monday with the Jone s County Junior College women taking on Mississippi Delta at

play - suffered a triple-over– time loss to Southwest Commumty College m its last game before the Christmas break, and a good showing Monday and Tuesday could be the boost the Bobcats need as they prepare for tough divi– sion games down the stretch. Among coach Fletcher Cockrell's biggest guns are two sophomores who received national attention in the pre– season, forward Lewis Richardson and guard Antoine Hubbard. Dewayne Brown, a 6-foot-8 freshman , is rated the top junior college player 1n America by some publications. The East Central Warriors - who sport 12 freshmen - come in at 4-7 overall and 2-2 i n the division and have showed their youth at times early in the season. See Warriors, Page 78

2 p.m., f ollowed by the schools' men's t eams at 4. East Central pl ays Bishop State, with the women tipping off at 6 and the men at 8. The classic format - which does not determine a champi– on - h as Jones and Bishop playi n g at 2 and 4 on Tuesday, while ECCC and Miss. Delta meet at 6 and 8. The Lady Warriors- who are 4-1 in the South Division - enter the tournament with an 8-3 overall record and Pace says his team is in good shape to contend for the division title. "Th e race is really up for grabs," h e said. Perha ps the most highly touted team coming into the tourney is the Jones men. The Bobcats were ranked in the NJCAA's preseason Top 10, but despite a solid 10-3 mark have since fa llen out of the poll. JCJC -just 1-2 in league

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