2015

Week of \ \ (\ 1 d

By Reed Desalvo rdesalvo@ themeridlanstar.com

when I was up. This was a team win." Wednesday's openin~­ round tournament matchup featured a number of runs from both sides Jone<: C and Oilld lea.ii lW a. many as 11 poinrS, 20-9 before East Central got back in the game. The Warriors outscored the Bobcats 22- 11 over the final 11 min– utes of the first half to tie the game at the half 31- 31. The rally was high– lighted Prince McDaniel one-handed slam dunk in the closing moments of the half. After East Central took a 40-35 advantage early in the first half, Jones County ripped off 14 of the next 15 points to take a 49-41 advantage with 13 minutes remaining. But it was East Cen– tral's final 10-1 spurt that proved to be the differ– ence. "I tell our kids all the time, it comes down to the team that has the will to keep .fighting until the end," Thompson said. "We played together as a team, and it's "March Madness," and we saw a bit of madness today." Ravion Henr y chipped in with 14 points and five rebounds in the win. The Warriors will play Holmes Community Col– lege at noon on Friday in second-round action. "They beat us in the State Tournament," Thompson said. "They are an extremely tough team, and they play extremely hard. We're looking forward to the challenge."

CLINTON - The month of March is prime for upsets, hence the term, "March Madness." On Wednesday, East Central Community Col– lege outscored Jones County Junior College 10- 1 in the final three min– utes and pulled off its own upset as the seventh– seeded Warriors beat the No. 2 Bobcats 67-64 at the Region 23 tournament. "This is a big upset for our guys, and I'm really excited for them," East Central coach Robert Thomp~on said. "I don't think we played well offensively, but we made enough plays down the stretch." With ECCC trailing 64- 63 and 39-seconds remaining, forward Quinton Campbell lined up a shot attempt from the left wing over the Jones County zone defense and buried a 3- pointer to send his squad ahead by one. ''We wanted to be patient and set some good screens," Thompson said. ''We know we have some good shooters, and we hadn't shot the ball well (Wednesday), but I have a lot of confidence in our guys. But (Campbell) made a big play, and that's what big time players are supposed to do for you." Campbell finished the game with 16 points, including 13 in the second half, and a game– high 16 rebounds. "I knew it was going in: l felt it was good,"

on the in-bounds play and connected on 1 of 2 attempts, putting his squad ahead by three. "It wasn't even a ques– tion; we had to get a stop," Traylor said of sac– rificing his body to get the charge call. "I saw him dri\ing, and I told myself (the referee) is either going to call a block or a charge. I got in position, and (the ref– eree) called a charge." Traylor led East Cen– tral with 17 points, including two 3-pointers, and grabbed five rebounds. "I didn't think I was feeling that good on the court," Traylor said. "I give credit to my team– mates, they found me

Campbell said of his 3- point shot. · Campbell had missed all three of 3-point attempts up until that point, but the 6-foot-7 for– ward h ad full confidence in himself on this occa– sion. MI tru ~red iC Campbell said. "Coach (Thompson) told me to keep playing, and that it was going to come. He told me that if there was going to be a big shot to be made that I was going to hit it. n Following Campbell's clutch shot, freshman guard Isaiah T raylor stepped in front of a Bobcat player and took a charge turning the ball back over to the War– riors. Traylor was fouled

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