After a slow start in the first half, the Southwest Bears kicked into high gear Thursday night in Decatur and came home with a convincing 86-65 win over the homestanding East Central Warriors.
With the win — their third straight — the Bears moved to 9-6 overall and, at 3-3, into a tie with Pearl River for fourth place in the MACJC South Division. East Central fell to 6-9 and 2-4.
East Central took an early 2-0 lead and was on top 8-7 with 15:38 to play in the half. But, sparked by a Twymond Howard jumper and capped by Christian Robbins' layup, the Bears went on an 11-0 run to take an 18-8 lead with 11:59 on the clock.
Only once did the Bears’ lead fall below 10 points the rest of the night.
A pair of Chris Jones free throws put the Bears on top by 15, 35-20, with 4:07 to play in the half. They took a 39-26 advantage into the locker room at the break.
The Warriors pulled within 10 points, 39-29, on Ramone Tate's three-pointer early in the second half.
But the rest of the game was dominated by Southwest. An 8-0 run, capped by a Jaylen Moore basket, gave the Bears a 60-34 lead with more than 11 minutes remaining.
A pair of Justin McCray free throws with 1:49 left gave the Bears their biggest lead of the night at 82-55, and they went on to claim the 21-point victory.
“I'm just really proud of my guys and the way we were able to guard tonight,” said Southwest third-year head coach Casey Carter. “Us getting stops was huge because we were able to get out in transition and score easy buckets or get in the lane and kick out for uncontested threes.
“(Getting stops) was the reason we were able to shoot such a good percentage from the field,” Carter added. Southwest shot 57 percent for the game making 31-of-54 field goals.
The Bears’ head coach praised his team’s preparation for the game, citing it as another reason for the key road victory.
“It all fell on the simple fact that we were really locked in on the scouting report of what East Central wanted to do,” Carter said. “Give our guys full credit for following that scouting report and guarding them really well tonight.”
Moore topped the Bears scoring attack with 16 points for the game. Howard and Jones both picked up 12 points (Howard added 13 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season, as well as three blocked shots) while Corey Williams and Deione Weeks were also in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The Bears shot 77 percent from the free throw line, hitting 17 of 22.
Terrance Mujahid led East Central with 13 points. The Warriors struggled at the free throw line, hitting only 17-of-40.
The two teams finished with 42 rebounds apiece and both teams dished out eight assists, although the Bears did convert on 10 more field goals than the Warriors.
The Bears return to the home court for their next game, hosting Meridian on Monday night. The game is set for a 7:15 start immediately following the conclusion of the girls game.
