The Southwest Bears won their second straight game since returning from the month-long winter break, topping visiting Holmes Community College 87-81 Thursday night.
The Bears led by as many as 10 points in the first half, but saw their lead cut to one point at halftime on a halfcourt heave by Holmes guard Jarvis Williams.
The second half was a thrilling back-and-forth affair, featuring 10 lead changes in the final 20 minutes alone. Corey Williams’ putback with less than four minutes remaining put the Bears ahead to stay at 77-75. Southwest would close the game on a 12-6 run to put the victory on ice.
“Guys were able to go make plays for us tonight,” Southwest head coach Casey Carter said. “And they were team plays, nothing one-on-one.”
Southwest came out of the locker room wearing its emotions on its sleeve. In its first home game since Dec. 9, the Bears brought the crowd to its feet, screaming and pounding their chests at every momentous occassion. A Twymond Howard putback-and-one in the first half electrified Southwest, kickstarting a run that would put it ahead by 10.
Midway through the second half, leading by a lone point, the Bears got emphatic dunks on back-to-back possessions, first from guard Jaylen Moore and then from forward Xavion Dillon.
Moore, who had exchanged words with an opponent following a tie-up on the previous play, beat his man off the drible and soared above the rim for an uncontested dunk to extend the Bears’ lead to three. On Holmes’ next possession, Dillon, a Tylertown native, stole the ball to begin a fastbreak, then got it back from teammate Deione Weeks for another dunk that sent the home crowd into a frenzy.
The team credited its intensity to harder practices, which both Carter and his players admitted have been kicked up a notch since the end of the winter break.
“It all starts at practice,” point guard Chris Jones said. “We’ve been practicing really hard and the coaches have been pushing us. So we’re just putting that intensity into the game and are trying to keep these wins rolling.”
Jones spent most of the night attacking the rim against a small but scrappy Holmes defense, putting the Bulldogs in foul trouble early in both halves. Jones led the Bears with 22 points despite making just four field goals on the night.
Weeks added 16 points on 60 percent shootingwhile Howard racked up 12 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
With the win, Southwest improved its record to 6-5 on the season, pulling it above the .500 mark for the first time since Dec. 5. The win over Holmes was the Bears’ final non-conference game before moving exclusively into MACJC South play.
“This was a perfect team to play right before heading into South division play,” Carter said of Holmes. “The intensity is great, the energy is great, and that’s definitely going to prepare us.”
Lady Bears 61, Holmes 45
The Southwest Lady Bears won their 10th straight game Thursday night, topping Holmes 61-45 to improve to 10-1 on the season. The Lady Bears are undefeated since a season-opening loss to Northwest Mississippi Community College on Nov. 4.
“We need to keep getting better every time out,” Lady Bears’ head coach Brent Harris said. “We got the win and had some people play pretty well. We need to keep getting better from here.”
Southwest jumped out to a 10-point lead midway through the first half, expanding that lead to 20 points by halftime. The Lady Bears led 39-19 at the break.
The second half was more of the same for the Lady Bears. Holmes came roaring out of the locker room, cutting the deficit to 12 less than five minutes into the half. But that was as close as the Lady Bulldogs would get, as Southwest regrouped and pulled away to a 16-point victory.
Despite shooting just 37 percent from the field as a team, the Lady Bears outrebounded Holmes 33-26 and forced 20 Lady Bulldogs turnovers on the night.
Guard April Levy starred for Southwest, scoring 16 points while recording three steals on the defensive end.
“April Levy responded more than anybody tonight,” Harris said. “She’s a tremendous talent, plays hard every series and she really carried us when things were waffling.”
Guard Katrina Littlepage and forward Tee Myers both joined Levy in double figures with 11 points apiece.
The win will likely keep the Lady Bears locked into their No. 1 spot atop the MACJC South rankings.
