The Holmes Community College Bulldogs inched closer to .500 in the North Division as they defeated visiting Coahoma Community College Tigers, 83-77, in overtime Monday night.
With the win, the Bulldogs went to 12-8 overall and 4-5 in the North Division. Holmes travels to Northeast Mississippi Community College on Thursday..
Holmes led 38-33 at halftime before the Tigers outscored the Bulldogs in the second half, 39-33, to pull the game to 71 at the end of regulation. Brandon Weatherspoon hit a late bucket to put the Bulldogs up before Coahoma tied the game at 71 by making one of two free throws. Holmes outscored Coahoma, 12-5, in overtime to pull out the win.
Tyler Talley led the Bulldogs with 20 points while Darius Clark had 15 and Kaleb Higgins had 13. Josiah Lewis had 13 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs.
— Steve Diffey
TWO CCHS ATHLETES SIGN
Weather concerns delayed football college signings of two Choctaw County seniors one day when school closed early, but Israel Whitmore and Kendall Coleman Jr. competed the necessary paperwork last Thursday at the school library. They helped the Chargers win Region 4-3A in the fall.
Whitmore will attend Arkansas State and Coleman is headed south to Jones College, a junior college in Ellisville. Both felt comfortable while visiting the schools they will attend.
Whitmore was a star at linebacker for the Chargers the past three years. He had 138 tackles as a sophomore and 93 as a junior. For his senior year, Whitmore was credited with 110 tackles, including four sacks. He recovered three fumbles, one returned 27 yards for a touchdown in a 28-18 regular season victory over 3A runner-up Noxubee County, and had an interception that he returned 76 yards for a TD against Ripley.
As a senior Coleman carried the ball 71 times for 531 yards and three TDs, caught 27 passes for 288 yards and four scores, made 26 tackles and intercepted two passes.
— Laurence Hilliard
MSU SOFTBALL BEGINS 4-0
Mississippi State's first four batters set the tone for a dominant day at the plate as the Bulldogs (4-0) claimed a 9-0 run-rule victory in five innings against NC State (2-3) on Sunday.
State won the NFCA Leadoff Classic with a perfect record through four games and earned the title based on average run differential (+5.5). MSU led the tournament with .343 average and smacked seven doubles, driving in 26 runs.
The Bulldog pitching staff threw two shutouts and allowed just two earned runs for a tournament-leading 0.52 ERA. Grace Fagan, Annie Willis and Emily Williams combined for 36 strikeouts over four games and held opponents to a .160 batting average.
Other wins for MSU in the event came over Missouri State (5-0), Liberty (9-2), and Louisville (3-2). After hosting Alabama State on Wednesday MSU was set to host the Bulldog Kickoff Classic on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
— Brian Ogden
REBS’ MILLER ON WATCH LIST
After a record-setting junior season, Austin Miller is back to anchor the Ole Miss bullpen, and he'll start his senior campaign on the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's Stopper of the Year Award Watch List.
The NCBWA announced its preseason watch list on Monday, including a spot for the Rebel right-hander. The award is given annually to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I Baseball.
Miller set program records for total appearances and relief appearances after toeing the rubber 32 times for the Rebels in 2019. He finished last season with a 5-3 record and a 3.15 ERA, the top mark among qualifying pitchers on the Rebel staff. The workhorse out of North Liberty, Iowa, had 27 appearances with one run allowed or fewer.
At 6-foot-7, 210 pounds, the physically imposing righty joined the Rebel program after spending his freshman season at Kirkwood Community College. He made 12 appearances and posted a 4.02 ERA as a sophomore in Oxford.
— School reports
CCHS BEGINS TOURNEY PLAY
The Choctaw County boys basketball team warmed up for the Region 4-3A tournament with two wins last week against non-region opponents. The Chargers defeated West Point 53-49 and Eupora 68-37.
In the region tournament at Houston, Choctaw County will play the host team in the semifinals Thursday with a 7 p.m. tipoff.
The West Point game was a roller coaster. The Chargers led 14-4 after one quarter, but found themselves trailing 41-35 through three quarter before outscoring West Point 18-8 in the final period for the victory.
The Lady Chargers also begin tournament play Thursday with an 8:30 game against Aberdeen, Choctaw County was third, assuring a spot in the playoffs. The Lady Chargers lost to West Point 50-31 while playing shorthanded, but bounced back with a 51-40 victory over Eupora.
— Laurence Hilliard
MSU WOMEN RALLY FOR WIN
Facing an 11-point deficit at halftime, sixth-ranked Mississippi State rallied in the second half to defeat No. 16 Texas A&M, 69-57, at Humphrey Coliseum on Sunday and earned its second-straight ranked win.
The Bulldogs (22-3, 10-1 SEC) struggled to get going offensively in the first half and got outscored in the second stanza, 26-14. The Aggies (18-5, 6-4 SEC) shot better than 70 percent from the field in the quarter and had all the momentum going into halftime, but Mississippi State wouldn't give up.
Myah Taylor went off in the second half, scoring all 16 of her points on 7-of-8 shooting to go along with six assists and three steals to rally the squad. Rickea Jackson dropped her fifth 20-point performance of SEC play and notched her second double-double of the season with a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds.
— Josh Lively
HCC WOMEN TAKE 69-63 WIN
The Holmes Community College Lady Bulldogs picked up a big North Division win Monday night over the visiting Coahoma Community College Tigers, 69-63.
With the win, the Lady Bulldogs improved to 9-11 overall and 5-4 in the North Division. Holmes travels to Northeast Mississippi Community College on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
Gabrielle Bunch led the Lady Bulldogs with 21 points while Brysa Maxwell had 16. Jordyn Manning and Maxwell each had eight rebounds.
— Steve Diffey
