Lady Warrior Yolanda Jones’ three-point shot at the buzzer was blocked by East Mississippi’s Natalie Tate and the Lady Lions held on for a 58-56 nail-biter over the East Central Community College women Thursday night in Scooba.

East Central’s men were also defeated, as the Lions made clutch shots in the game’s final moments to post a 63-56 decision.

Danielle Cole of Philadelphia pumped in 14 points to lead the Lady Warriors who dropped to 1-1 on the young season. Also scoring for East Central were Jones, Lake product and Hannah Lee of Leake Academy, 11 each; Shantel Neely of Searcy (Ark.) High School, eight; Sierra Croff of Newton County, five; Demetria Slocum of Bradford (Fla.) High School, three; and Bianca Thomas of Sebastopol and Quentinette Odom of Scott Central, two each.

Tate had 17 points for East Mississippi, which improved to 1-1.

The Lady Warriors trailed 28-27 at the break.

Kenneth Thomas of Jackson Provine and Joshua Carothers of Columbus tallied 13 points each for the Warriors who fell to 0-2. Other point makers were Steve Edwards of Newton, 11; Aquill Baynard and Titus Mims, both products of Elsik (Tex.) High School, six each; Kendall Jackson of Columbus, five; and Keondre Hodges of Newton, two.

CoCo Ware, a preseason second team NJCAA All-American, poured in 24 points for the Lions who improved to 2-0. Ware also made a key three-pointer with the shot clock winding down to give the Lions a 61-54 advantage with just over a minute remaining.

EC trailed 30-24 at halftime. 

ECCC squads host Northeast Mississippi Community College Saturday afternoon in the home opener. The women’s game tips off at 2 p.m. followed by the men’s contest at 4 p.m. in the Brackeen-Wood Physical Education Building.