Co-Lin women win; men stumble
Published 6:00 am Tuesday, January 14, 2003
WESSON – The Copiah-Lincoln Lady Wolves continued to be perfectMonday night but the Co-Lin men’s team felt the frustration ofanother hard loss in the final seconds after leading most of thegame. Co-Lin won the women’s game 90-72 over Jones County JuniorCollege, but the Wolves lost 73-72 on a last-second turnover.
The Wolves (6-8, 0-3) held a 37-32 halftimelead before losing control of the game with 12:04 remaining due tonumerous turnovers and miscues. “Too many mistakes and errors costus this one,” said Co-Lin men’s coach Dennis Sims. “Turnovers andmistakes are the name of the game and we lost it right there.
“This was a hard loss,” added Sims. “We looked tired out therethe entire game.”
Co-Lin mounted a six-point comeback with 5:55 remaining to takeback the lead 57-56. The Wolves used a slicing layup by sophomoreguard Elliot Cowart and a trey from Jerimie Collier to answer theJones (9-4, 3-0) attack.
“This was a brutal battle,” said Jones coach Robert McInnis.”Coach Dennis Sims is a great coach and we knew we had to play ourbest to beat his team.”
Jones answered the Wolves time after time with jumpers andlayups that changed the lead four time in the last five minutes.The Wolves trailed Jones 73-72 with 0:17 remaining when Sims calleda timeout to setup a possible game-winning play.
Like a thorn in their side, the Wolves’ organized comebackattempt turned ugly with a turnover as the final seconds ran offthe clock. Co-Lin was setting up for quick shot when freshmanJeremy Richardson lost control of the ball which rolled out ofbounds.
“This one hurts,” said Co-Lin shooting guard Jerimie Collier.”We had it (game) in our hands, and let it slip away.”
Collier led all scorers with 28 points, four rebounds, twoassists, and two blocked shots. Sophomore forward Jason Scott added15 points, 12 rebounds, and three assists.
For the Bobcats, 6-7 center Timothy Brumfield finished with 19points, nine rebounds, and two assists. Lee Kirkpatrick, a 6-6freshman, added 12 points and seven boards.
The Lady Wolves (14-0, 3-0), coached by GwynYoung, used the hot hand of sophomore playmaker Tiania Burns tooverwhelm the Lady Bobcats (2-11, 0-3) with treys, steals, andlayups. Burns went 6-for-6 behind the arch as Co-Lin, ranked No. 6in the NJCAA poll, roared to a 50-24 halftime advantage.
“Tiania shot the ball extremely well on the outside tonight,”said Young. “Her outside shooting allowed us to open it up insidethroughout the game.”
Burns and sophomore center Shaquita Smith scored the LadyWolves’ first 10 points in the second half, as Co-Lin stretchedtheir led to 60-28 with 17:04 to go. Young inserted his reserves atthe 12:02 mark which allowed everyone on the Lady Wolves rosterplaying time.
“Our big lead allowed us to substitute in some of our youngerplayers throughout the game,” added Young. “We felt like we alreadyhad the game won in the early stages of the second half.”
Burns led the Lady Wolves with a game high 32 points, eightrebounds, five steals, and three assists. Sophomore guard AymeBeeson added seven assists on four points and two steals. Smithfinished with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocked shots.
For Jones, freshman guard Latoria Keyes of Laurel finished with31 points, six rebounds, and three steals. Kandis Bartee added 10points and six rebounds.
Co-Lin resumes play Thursday night in a South Division showdownwith the Pearl River Wildcats in Poplarville.