The Southwest Mississippi Community College men’s basketball team defeated arch-rival Co-Lin 94-75 before a packed house in Summit Tuesday night.
The Bears’ fifth straight win moved them to 9-4 overall and 4-1 in division — good enough for a three-way tie for first in the MACJC South.
Trailing 5-3 early in the game, the Bears went on a 19-6 tear, with three 3-pointers from Emanuel Thompson and two from Terrell Miller, to take a 22-11 lead with 13:22 left in the first half.
The lead went to 30-14, with 8:01 left in the half, on back-to-back treys by Miller and Lafayette Rutledge. Three-pointers from Miller and Thompson then helped the Bears take their biggest lead of the night, 49-25, with 1:16 on the clock and they went on to hold a 51-29 advantage at intermission.
Leading 67-48, with 12:57 left in the second half, the Bears saw Co-Lin pull back to within 12, 68-56, with 10:59 remaining. However, that would be as close as the visitors would get the rest of the way.
A Miller jumper with 6:33 on the clock moved the Bears out to an 82-64 lead. They then tied their biggest lead of 24 points, at 93-69, with 1:37 to play before Co-Lin (2-12, 0-5 South) scored six of the game’s final seven points to reach the final score.
“We were really fortunate to be able to shoot the ball like we did,” said Bears head coach Thomas Gray of his team’s 16-23 shooting from behind the 3-point line. “That was something we haven’t been able to do and probably won’t be able to again.”
Rutledge led all scorers with 24 points on 9-11 shooting from the field, including 4-5 from behind the arc. Miller had his second straight double-double with 23 points (7-10 from the field; 4-4 from 3-point range) and 19 rebounds while Thompson also had 23 points (5-7 from 3-point range). The Bears were good on 14 of 21 free throws.
Lady Bears’ win streak ends
The Southwest Mississippi Community College women’s basketball team saw their winning streak come to an end at nine Tuesday night with an 80-67 overtime loss to visiting Co-Lin.
With the loss, the Lady Bears dropped to 12-2 on the season and, at 4-1, into a second-place tie with East Central in the MACJC’s South Division.
Four ties and three lead changes highlighted the first quarter of the contest. A 9-2 run, capped by a Gabby Cortez jumper, gave the Lady Bears their first lead of the night, 12-9, with 5:22 on the clock. The lead was 20-18 for the home team before Co-Lin’s Kelley Allen bucket knotted the game at 20-20 at the end of the quarter.
Trailing 25-20 with 9:17 left in the second quarter, the Lady Bears scored six straight to take a 26-25 lead with 6:52 on the clock. Co-Lin held a 34-30 lead late in the quarter before the Lady Bears scored the final eight points of the half, including three-pointers from Adam and Kristy Armwood, to take a 38-34 lead in the break.
The Lady Bears were on top 42-37, with 6:53 left in the third quarter before Co-Lin went on a 9-0 run to take a 46-42 lead with 2:41 on the clock. A 10-0 run, highlighted by a Teshia Jones’ trey, then helped the Lady Bears take a 52-47 lead at the end of the quarter.
Neither team could move ahead by more than four points in the fourth quarter. The Lady Bears were up 52-48 with 9:17 to play while Co-Lin (12-2, 3-2 South) held a 59-55 advantage with 3:41 left.
A free throw by Adam put the Lady Bears on top 61-59 with 0:43 to play in regulation, but Co-Lin came back to tie the game at 61-61 on Tytiana Hall’s jumper with 0:16 on the clock. The Lady Bears had a chance to win the game in regulation, attempting two free throws with 0:01 left, but the misses sent the contest into overtime.
“We missed some great opportunities to get this one,” Southwest head coach Brent Harris said. “We fought hard inside, but they really hurt us in the post.”
Adam led the home team with 20 points and nine assists. Jones was also in double figures with 18 points while Cortez netted 13. The Lady Bears made eight of 19 free throws.
SMCC is at Jones County Junior College Thursday. The women start at 5:30 p.m. with the men following at 7:30.
