ICC Men's Basketball Recorded November 10, 2009
	In the News...   []  Indians knock off defending state champs (11/19/2009) Itawamba Community College knocked off the defending state champs, Jones County, Thursday night in Ellisville, 89-79. Itawamba jumped out 5-2 and held a 37-32 advantage at half. The Indians, who played without their leading scorer Vincenzo Nelson, who was suspended, led the entire game but Jones did close the gap to 55-52 but a 3-pointer by Todd Nelson pushed the lead back to six. Itawamba's Wesley McIntosh went 8-8 from the free throw line down the stretch to seal the game. "This was a sweet victory," said ICC head coach Marty Cooper. "Anytime you can beat Jones, especially at their place, is a good night. They are a very good team but I was so proud of our guys tonight. Not only was Vincenzo suspended but one of our top post players (Sam Ford) was out with a seperated shoulder." Todd Nelson led the Indians with 19 points, including 4-5 from behind the three-point arc. Melvin Morgan had 16 points, five rebounds and a trio of assists, while Jeremy Word also had 16 points and three assists. Akeem Caddell had his best game ever as a collegiate with 11 points and seven rebounds while McIntosh chipped in 10 points and Xavier Ruth had eight points.   []  State Champions clash tomorrow night in Ellisville (11/18/2009) Two years ago, both of the Itawamba Community College basketball programs captured state titles. Last year, the men's and women's basketball teams from Jones County Junior College were crowned state champions. Thursday night in Ellisville, both of these proud programs will square off in a pair of showdowns on the JCJC campus. The Lady Indians (3-3) are led by sophomore post player Lori Crudup of Pontotoc (14 ppg), who has scored in double figures in all six of the ICC games so far, including 18 Monday night in the Itawamba 76-58 win over Snead State. The Indians (3-2) are led in scoring by Houlka's Wesley McIntosh (13 ppg) and Melvin Morgan of Memphis (12 ppg), while New Hope's Ray Hollivay is averaging 10 points and six rebounds an outing. You can listen to both contests at www.jcjc.edu beginning at 5 p.m. with the women's tip-off. The men will follow at 7 p.m.   []  Indians jump out to huge lead, cruise to victory (11/12/2009) Itawamba Community College celebrated "Military Appreciation Night" by winning its third game in four tries this season with a 76-58 victory over Northwest Shoals. Itawamba jumped out early 16-6 and 35-17 and never looked back. The Indians held a commanding 71-44 lead when they cleared the bench. Itawamba was led in scoring by Vincenzo Nelson's 21 points, while Sam Ford had 12 points and six rebounds. Xavier Ruth also hit for double figures with 10 points and Ray Hollivay had nine points and seven rebounds. ICC travels to East Central on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. to wrap up a three games in six days stretch.   []  ICC to host "Girls Night Out" (11/10/2009) For the first time ever, Itawamba Community College will host a "Girls Night Out" for Monday night's home basketball game against Snead State (Ala.) All females, no matter the age, will be allowed into the Davis Event Center for free for this women's only matchup that begins at 6 p.m. "We thought this was a fun idea, especially since there's only the women's game that night," said ICC athletic director, Carrie Ball-Williamson. "So go ahead ladies, no matter how young or old you are, you need to take advantage of this deal." Ball-Williamson added with a smile "that all men are invited to watch the Lady Indians play that night, as well. They just have to pay to get in."   []  Indians lose first game of the year (11/9/2009) Itawamba Community College head coach Marty Cooper knew his club would be in for a real difficult test when his Indians traveled to Tuscaloosa, Ala. to face Shelton State in a battle of the unbeatens. In the end, he was right as the hosts defeated Itawamba 83-63. ICC held an early 15-11 lead, but Shelton State (3-0) took control late in the half leading 39-32 at the break. Itawamba scored the first basket of the second half to cut the margin to five, but would never get closer. Shelton State finished off the Indians at the eight minute mark leading 58-46 and went on a 17-2 run using their fullcourt pressure defense to put the game well out of reach at 75-48. ICC freshman Todd Nelson led the scoring for the Indians (2-1) with 12 points, while Melvin Morgan and Wesley McIntosh each chipped in 11.   []  ICC to honor military Thursday night (11/6/2009) Itawamba Community College will host its annual "Military Appreciation Night" Thursday night at its home basketball games against Northwest Shoals. All current or former military personnel with proper id and their families will be admitted for free to the doubleheader at the Davis Event Center. The Lady Indians contest against the nationally-ranked Lady Patriots tips off at 5:30 p.m. with the men's matchup to follow at 7:30 p.m. In addition, the College's band director, Brian Gillentine, said his ICC All-American pep band will play a medley of service songs at half-time of the men's game, including. "Anchors Aweigh" (Navy), "The Caissons Go Rolling Along" (Army), "The Marine's Hymn" (Marines) and "The U.S. Air Force" (Air Force). For more information, call (662)-862-8243.   []  ICC wins overtime thriller (11/5/2009) Jeremy Word's three-point basket with 4.8 seconds gave Itawamba a 66-65 overtime victory in the Indians home opener Thursday against Co-Lin. "Jeremy just stepped up and made a play for us," said ICC head coach Marty Cooper on his post-game radio show. "He wasn't our first option on the play, but we were able to get penetration and a kickout, and he made the play. This was a quality win for us." It was a game that went back and forth from start to finish. Co-Lin's DeMorris Summers sent the game into overtime when he hit a 3 deep in the left corner at the end of regulation tying the game at 57. Itawamba jumped out 15-11 but Co-Lin behind the play of Marcus Hooten (29 pts) went on a 11-0 run to take a 22-15 lead which was Co-Lin's largest lead of the game. Itawamba closed the gap to 30-29 at half. Itawamba took a 55-49 lead in the second half, which was its largest lead of the game. Vincenzo Nelson led the Red and Blue in scoring with 17 points and added six rebounds, while Word had 15 points. Ray Hollivay chipped in eight points and six rebounds. Itawamba improves to 2-0 and travels to nationally-ranked Shelton State Monday night.   []  ICC captures opener at Motlow State (11/2/2009) ICC tipped off its regular season with a 79-63 victory over perennial power Motlow State in Lynchburg, Tenn. According to Indians head coach Marty Cooper, "it was a very physical, hard played game by both teams on the defensive end." The home team Bucks jumped out to a 20-15 lead behind the 10 first half points by Darryn Frazier. But Itawamba was able to close the gap by half and tie the game at 33. The visiting Indians used a 25-11 spurt to open the second half behind the play of sophomore guards Jeremy Word of Nettleton and Houlka's Wesley McIntosh. Word led the visitors with 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists, while McIntosh had 12 points, three rebounds and a trio of assists. Melvin Morgan also chipped in 12 points, including 8-9 free throws. Vincenzo Nelson added nine points and nine rebounds, while Ray Hollvay also had nine points in the season opener for both teams.   []  ICC hoops media day luncheon gets rave reviews (10/28/2009) With the season opener scheduled for Monday night, the Itawamba Community College men's and women's basketball programs held their annual media day luncheon this afternoon (Wednesday) inside the Davis Club Room at the Davis Event Center on the Fulton campus. Both Indians head coach Marty Cooper and Lady Indians head coach Nanci Gray discussed the lofty expectations for their upcoming campaigns and answered every question from the 10-member media group on hand for this annual event. Cooper and his program, which were defeated last night in their final exhibition tilt against Union University, have won the last three north division crowns, which hasn't happened in 35 years at the College. Gray's Lady Indians have captured outright or shared the last two north division titles and have posted back to back 20 plus win seasons for the first time ever in women's basketball at Itawamba. ICC will tip-off its 2009-10 slate Monday night in Lynchburg, Tenn. against Motlow State. The women's game begins at 5:30 p.m. with the men to follow at 7:30 p.m. The home opener is one week from tomorrow (Thursday) night against Co-Lin. The College along with FM95 (95.7) station manager Ed Stanford announced this afternoon after the media day luncheon that we will broadcast the home opener next Thursday night. Coverage will begin at 5:10 p.m. and you'll be able to listen to the games on the College Web site, as well, at www.iccms.edu and www.fm95radio.com. It will be the first two of nearly 30 games this upcoming season on the trio of outlets broadcasting ICC basketball. The College also officially introduced its new backdrop sponsored by Renasant Bank to be used for news conferences/player signings/interviews, etc. Renasant Bank Vice-President John Oxford was on hand to announce the partnership between ICC and Renasant Bank in this new endeavor.   []  ICC hosts Union University/Lady Indians look ahead (10/26/2009) With the regular season right around the corner, the Itawamba Community College men's basketball team will host Union University tomorrow night in its final pre-season exhibition tilt. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at the Davis Event Center. Admission is free. Head coach Marty Cooper and his three-time defending north division champions won two games and lost one in last week's University of North Alabama Jamboree. Head coach Nanci Gray and her Lady Indians wrapped up their pre-season scrimmages at the East Mississippi Community College Jamboree this past Saturday in Scooba. Itawamba won one game and lost the other but Gray added, "we are looking better. We sure do miss our trio of two-year starting guards that graduated last year. We will work this week to get the kinks out before the season begins." Both of ICC's programs, which will host their annual media day on Wednesday, will tip-off their regular season slates next Monday night at Motlow State (Tenn.). The home openers are set for next Thursday night (11/5) against Co-Lin at the Davis Event Center.   []  ICC releases basketball schedules (10/14/2009) Itawamba Community College announced its 2009-10 basketball schedules Wednesday, a challenging slate for both programs, who enter their campaigns with high expectations and the strong possibility of national rankings. Head coach Marty Cooper and his Indians have won the last three north division titles, which hasn't happened at ICC in 35 years. "We've got a lot of new faces," said Cooper, who sports a 209-101 record in his first 11 years at Itawamba. "We're a young, talented team and it just depends on how quickly they mess together, on what kind of success we will enjoy this year." Lady Indians head coach Nanci Gray and her program have won or shared the last two division crowns and have won 20 or more games two years in a row, which is a first for women's basketball at the College. "With only one returning starter (Birdie Bowens) from last year's squad, we will be looking at a lot of newcomers for some quality minutes," said Gray, who last year reached the 500 win plateau in her coaching career (502-140 overall record). "We've had an exciting fall getting our ladies ready for this season." The regular season tips off at Motlow State (Tenn.) on November 2, while the home opener at the Davis Event Center for both squads will be on November 5 against Co-Lin. The division slate begins on December 3 at Coahoma, with the first home games inside the conference scheduled for December 7 against Northwest. For the sixth straight year, FM95 (95.7) will broadcast the majority of the ICC division duels along with every post-season game for each squad. The College Web site, www.iccms.edu, will also carry those games along with www.fm95radio.com.   []  ICC schedules exhibition tilts (10/4/2009) Itawamba Community College's basketball programs announced they will have scheduled two exhibition dates this pre-season. Head coach Marty Cooper and his three-time defending north division champions will participate in the University of North Alabama jamboree on Sunday, October 18, and then host Union University on October 27 at 6 p.m. at the Davis Event Center. Head coach Nanci Gray, who has led her program to back to back 20 plus win seasons, which has never happened before in the history of women's basketball at the College, and her Lady Indians will travel to Jackson, Tenn. on October 20 to play Lambuth at 4 p.m. and then take part in the East Mississippi Community College jamboree, which is scheduled for October 24 in Scooba. The Lady Indians first game will be at 11 a.m. Both the Indians and Lady Indians officially began their pre-season workouts this past Thursday afternoon and will release their 2009-10 schedules in the next week.   []  ICC hoops host clinic for nearly 80 area Boy Scouts (9/27/2009) Itawamba Community College's men's basketball program took a little time out of its weekend schedule to help out the area Boy Scouts of America. Indians head coach Marty Cooper, his wife/assistant coach, Jennifer, and all 15 of their players hosted a clinic for the boy scouts this past Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at the Davis Event Center on the Fulton campus. Marty Cooper said 42 showed up in the six and seven year old group and another 36 from the eight, nine and 10 year old age division group. The nearly 80 that showed up enjoyed learning a few new tips from ICC's nationally-ranked program and the coaches and players said afterwards, it was very satisfying for them, too, including sophomore guard Wesley McIntosh. "I know Rodney (Jackson) and I can never pay back to the many people that helped us at Houlka High School, so it was an opportunity for us to pay forward and try to help someone else." The parents of the boys scouts were appreciative, as well. "I thought the coaches and the team did an excellent job with the kids and represented ICC well," said Tammy Foster, whose son, Conner, was one of the participants in the younger age group. "As a mom and den leader, I appreciated the coaches and players taking time from their busy school year to work with these kids. It will be a day that a lot of them will never forget."   []  ICC coaches to be honored at ECCC's Homecoming (9/22/2009) Itawamba Community College head basketball coach Marty Cooper and his assistant/wife, Jennifer Cooper, will be honored at East Central Community College's Homecoming game on October 3. The Cooper's, who coached together in Decatur for seven years, were asked to be a part of a special reunion with all of their former players. "We have a lot of special memories looking back to our days at East Central," said Marty Cooper, who along with Jennifer will be honored at a luncheon with their former players before the game. "They were the ones that gave me my first opportunity to be a head basketball coach and they will always have a special part in our hearts." In seven years at ECCC, the Coopers won a state title, were state runner-up twice along with capturing three south division titles and compiled a record of 116-81. The Coopers and their current ICC team, who will officially begin pre-season workouts on October 1, will host a clinic this Saturday morning for area Boy Scouts at the Davis Event Center. Did you know... The men's program at ICC has won three straight north division crowns for the first time in 35 years when the College's legendary coach Buster Davis roamed the Itawamba bench area. For the first time in school history, ICC won two MACJC state championships on the same day. (Men's and Women's Basketball -- February 28, 2008)