MEADVILLE – Two big 3-pointers by Brett Rushing in the fourthquarter and some outstanding post play by Bradleigh Rice were allthe West Lincoln Bears needed Tuesday night to notch their firstwin of the season against the Franklin County Bulldogs. WestLincoln beat the Bulldogs 45-28 in the boys game.

Franklin County won the girls game 43-18, behind LatanyaWilliams who had 16 points and eight rebounds.

The Bears (1-3) raced out to a 17-8 lead in thefirst period, before slowing down to collect a 22-14 advantage atthe half. The Bulldogs, who were without the services of threestarters due to the Class 3A state football playoffs, struggled theentire night offensively.

“West Lincoln did a good job running its offense,” said Bulldoghead coach Chris Jordan. “They outrebounded us and outhustled usthe entire night.”

Jordan’s Dawgs (0-2) cut West Lincoln’s lead to 30-25 with 1:12remaining in the third quarter, before watching Rushing hit twotreys in the fourth quarter to give West Lincoln the momentum.Rushing, a sophomore guard, finished the game with 12 points andtwo steals.

“We just needed a win,” said West Lincoln coach Lane Young. “Westruggled offensively, but our defense played a lot better than ithas recently.”

Young’s Bears got 12 points and eight boards from Rice. SwingmanJeremy Byrd added 11 points and five rebounds. Aaron Shaw droppedin eight points.

For the Bulldogs, Bryan Bolin led FCHS with nine points and fourrebounds. Junior Jason Hunt added 11 boards, six points, threesteals, and blocked three shots. Freshman Hunter Hatcher addedthree points and collected two steals.

In the girls game, coach Charles Moore’s LadyBulldogs jumped out to a 26-4 halftime lead and never looked back.Moore’s ladies used the powerful inside presence of duo SharekaHunt, Vanity Green, and Williams to overwhelm the Lady Bears (1-3)the entire game.

“Latanya played well,” said Moore. “We’ve got to work on ourintensity and get better.”

The Lady Bulldogs (3-0) outscored West Lincoln 17-14 in thesecond half to stay undefeated. Hunt pumped in 10 points and addedfive boards and two steals in the win. Guard Sineka Shaw addedeight points, four rebounds, and a steal. Green finished with fiverebounds and two points. Forward CeCe Davis added nine rebounds andfour points.

For the Lady Bears, Julie Case led the way with seven points andtwo assists. Kayla Moak added four points and collected fiverebounds.

West Lincoln resumes play today against Northwest Rankin in theBrookhaven Tournament. Franklin travels to Natchez tonight to playFerriday, La. in the Natchez High Round-Robin Classic.