Southwest Mississippi Community College’s men’s basketball team made its 2016-17 debut a success Saturday evening in New Orleans as they defeated the Delgado Dolphins 66-51.
Rodrick Sikes’ trey with 19:47 left in the half gave the Bears a 3-0 lead, an advantage they would not surrender. They later increased their lead to 25-9 on James Hawthorne’s bucket with 5:42 left in the half.
A 12-2 run by the Dolphins brought them back to within six points, 27-21, with 2:00 left in the half. The teams traded baskets the remaining time and the Bears took a 32-25 lead at intermission.
Mike Parks Jr. hit a free throw to help the Bears outscore their hosts 10-5 to open the second half and go up 42-30 with 15:38 still to play.
A 15-4 run by the Dolphins (0-2) narrowed the Bears’ lead to 46-45 with 9:03 left in the game. But, from there it was all Bears. A jumper from Sikes and Guy Johnson’s old-fashioned three-point play with 0:45 remaining helped the Bears close out the game with a 21-4 run and allow them to pick up the 15-point victory.
Going 7-9 from the field with one three-pointer and 2-2 from the free throw line, Antonio Cowart, Jr., scored 17 points to lead the Bears and all scorers. Sikes and Johnson were also in double figures with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Cowart and Parks both had seven rebounds.
The Bears return to action tonight at Mississippi Delta.
