Indians down Tigers 68-64 in North opener

Indians down Tigers 68-64 in North opener
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com

FULTON, MS – Itawamba Community College forced Northeast Mississippi Community College into 23 turnovers in the Indians 68-64 win to open North Division play on Thursday.

"This was a big win," said ICC head coach Grant Pate. "Winning your first region game of the year is always big, but when you can get the win over your rival that's an added bonus."    

Sophomore Deontaye Ewing (Tupelo) scored a game-high 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor, 2-of-3 from three and 7-of-10 from the free throw line.

"Deontaye has been steady all season long," said Pate. "He's a guy that we lean on night in and night out that continues to produce like he did tonight, but tonight we had some guys step up in pressure situations to help us get the win."

In a second half that saw seven lead changes, freshman Mike Brand (Starkville) nailed a three pointer accompanied by a free throw by Ewing to give the Indians a 66-57 edge, their largest lead of the half, before Northeast battled back to make it a 66-64 contest with 36 left.

On the Tigers' final possession Brand stepped in front of a pass and helped seal the victory with a pair of free throws.

"This was a team win," Pate commented. "Everyone bought in and gave the effort we challenged them to give in this game, but now we have to get that same type of effort every night we take the floor no matter who we play."

Brand finished with 10 points while Johnthan McGee (Jackson) added 15 in the win.

KeDorian Sullivan and Tyler Brunson paced Northeast with 19 points each in the loss.