WESSON – Wesson will be the center of the Mississippi college basketball universe this week as Copiah-Lincoln Community College serves as host of the 2015 Mississippi Association of Junior and Community Colleges (MACJC) State Basketball Tournament.

The tournament begins on Monday, Feb. 23 with four women’s games to take place in Mullen Gymnasium. The opening game starts at 1 p.m. and features the North No. 1 seed Itawamba Lady Indians (20-3, 11-1 Division) taking on the South No. 4 seed Meridian Lady Eagles (15-9, 8-6 Division). Itawamba, coached by Nanci Gray, swept Meridian in the regular season, winning 95-59 in Fulton on Nov. 20 and 75-65 in Meridian on Dec. 11. The Lady Indians are led by high scoring guard Jayla Chills, a sophomore who averages 18.7 points per game. Meridian is coached by Jocelyn McGilberry and boasts possibly the best post-player in the league in sophomore Miaya Crowder (17.1 ppg, 11.3 rpg).

The next game is scheduled for a 2:45 p.m. tip and will see the South No. 2 seed East Central Lady Warriors (19-4, 10-4 Division) tangling with the North No. 3 seed Holmes Lady Bulldogs (16-7, 7-5 Division). East Central is led by third year head coach Crandal Porter and have a high-powered offense that averages 85 points per game. The Lady Warriors have five players averaging double figure in scoring. This will be the first meeting of the season between East Central and Holmes. Holmes is led by third year coach Jamilah Johns Andrews. The Lady Bulldogs started the season with a 7-1 record and are led by freshman Aja Williams (18.2 ppg).

The second sessions of games begin at 6 p.m. with the home team taking the court. The Co-Lin Lady Wolves (23-0, 14-0 Division) are the South No. 1 seed and will take on the North No. 4 seed East Mississippi Lady Lions (12-11, 7-5 Division). The Lady Wolves average 81 points per game and have seven players averaging over 7.0 points per game. This will be the first meeting between the Lady Wolves and Lady Lions since a 73-65 Lady Wolves win on Feb. 23, 2010. That game took place in the 2010 State Tournament that East Mississippi hosted. Coach Sharon Thompson is the leader of the Lady Lions. East Mississippi features a Mississippi State transfer in Kiki Patterson (14.3 ppg).

The nightcap of day one will tip off at 7:45 p.m. as the North No. 2 seed Northwest Lady Rangers (18-5, 8-4 Division) face off with the South No. 3 seed Jones County Lady Bobcats (16-6, 10-4 Division). This one should look something like a NASCAR race with both teams averaging around 83 points per game. This will be the first meeting of the season between these teams. Northwest, led by longtime head coach Don Edwards, went 2-0 against the South Division in the regular season. The Lady Rangers feature a double double machine in Austin Peay transfer Aspriona Gilbert. Gilbert averages 17.5 points per game and 8.4 rebounds per game. Gilbert has scored and rebounded in double digits in 11-of-23 games this season for Northwest. Jones boasts freshman forward Taylor Baudoin who recently was named national player of the week and averages 17.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.

The winners of the first two games will play each other in a semifinal at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 25. The winners of the two later games will play in a semifinal at 6 p.m., also on Feb. 25. The championship game is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26 in Mullen Gymnasium.

Men’s action gets underway on Tuesday, Feb. 24 with a 1 p.m. showdown between South No. 2 seed Jones County (18-3, 11-3 Division) and North No. 3 seed Northeast (16-7, 8-4 Division). Jones County is coached by Rahim Lockhart and are the defending NJCAA National Champions. Sophomore point guard Bryce Jones averages 19.7 points and 5.9 assists per game for the Bobcats. This will be the first meeting of the season between the Bobcats and Tigers. Northeast, led by second year head coach Cord Wright, had an 8-game winning streak during the season. Point guard Dimario Jackson is the Tigers high scorer with an 18.8 points per game average.

The second men’s game on Tuesday starts at 2:45 p.m. as North No. 1 seed Holmes (18-5, 11-1 Division) tangles with South No. 4 seed East Central (13-10, 8-6 Division). Holmes, coached by Jason Flanigan, has the leading scorer in the state in freshman guard Daryl Macon. Macon averages 23.7 points per game, fourth best in the nation. Holmes and East Central did not meet in the regular season. East Central, led by Robert Thompson, has four players averaging double figures in scoring.

The second session gets underway at 6 p.m. with South No. 1 seed Pearl River (20-3, 11-3 Division) taking on North No. 4 seed Mississippi Delta (10-12, 6-6 Division). Pearl River, led by longtime head coach Richard Mathis, swept Delta in the regular season by winning 55-52 in Poplarville on No. 13 and 78-62 on Jan. 8 in Moorhead. The Wildcats began the season 12-0 before suffering their first loss. Derrick Fears, in his 11th season, is the leader of the Trojans. Delta is the only team in the tournament with a sub .500 record in the regular season.

The final first round game of the tournament will be the North No. 2 seed East Mississippi Lions (17-6, 9-3 Division) versus the South No. 3 seed Gulf Coast Bulldogs (13-10, 8-6 Division). The Lions are coached by Mark White and average 83 points and 25 3-point attempts per game. Gulf Coast, led by longtime coach Wendell Weathers, have not played the Lions since a thrilling 69-68 East Mississippi win in the 2014 Region 23 Tournament. The Bulldogs won another thriller 84-82 when the two teams met in the 2013 MACJC State Tournament.

The winners of the first two games will play each other in a semifinal at 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 25. The winners of the two later games will play in a semifinal at 7:45 p.m., also on Feb. 25. The championship game is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26 in Mullen Gymnasium.

Admission is $7 for adults and $5 for students per day. There will be a limited number of chair back seats available for purchase for $12 per day. Programs will be on sale for $3.