WESSON — The Co-Lin men saw a promising campaign come to adisappointing conclusion Thursday night in Mullen Gymnasium. TheWolves blew a 12-point halftime lead as the Hinds Community CollegeBulldogs rallied for a 72-68 South Division victory.

Hinds (16-8, 9-5) is the No. 3 seed out of the South Divisionand plays Monday in the MACJC State Tournament at Booneville.Coached by Ralph Moore, the Bulldogs avenged an earlier loss toCo-Lin at Utica as Kiki Christmas scored a game-high 21 points tolead 3 Bulldogs in double digits.

Co-Lin (10-13, 5-9), in a tailspin since losing sophomore centerDerek Jarvis to a knee injury, lost its fifth straight game. TheWolves were unable to handle the Bulldogs’ tenacious defense in thesecond half.

Hinds caught the Wolves at 52-52 on a driving layup by pointguard Donald Jones. A trey and a free throw by Jones gave Hinds a56-54 lead. He finished with 19 points.

“Hinds came out and got after us in the second half,” said Sims.”The big difference was us shying away from their aggressiveness.Our freshman have got to learn how to win in this league. Whenthings get tough, they tuck their tails and hide.

“We don’t have any leadership,” Sims pointed out. “Our playersmust get stronger and more determined to win.”

The Wolves got 16 points and 6 steals from freshman guard LedellEackles.

Sophomore guard Jeremy Richardson followed Eackles with 15points and Derrick Stewart scored 14. Dexter Middleton, who was inearly foul trouble, scored 10 points. Middleton sat out 5 minutesof the second half with 4 personals.

The Wolves enjoyed a strong first half. A last-second,NBA-distance trey by Stewart gave the hosts their 12-point halftimelead. Don Lockhart’s 8 rebounds led Co-Lin on the backboards.