Outside temperatures are dropping but the heat and intensity arerising in the cozy confines of Horace C. Holmes Gymnasium. SouthDivision play started Monday for MACJC teams. Ancient rivals clashtonight on the Southwest Mississippi Community College campus inSummit as the Bears welcome Co-Lin for a South Divisiondoubleheader.

As usual, Co-Lin’s Lady Wolves have a large bull’s-eye on theirbacks. They are defending state and region tournament champions.Off to a 10-1 start this season, Coach Gwyn Young’s Lady Wolves areranked No. 17 in the latest NJCAA National Poll.

That’s a remarkable achievement, especially when you considerthe massive rebuilding challenge Young faced. He had to replace 5starters and 6 of his top 8 players.

An outstanding crop of recruits, a talented transfer and twostrong returning sophomores have made the Lady Wolves titlecontenders again. They dismantled Pearl River Monday night in theirfirst South Division test.

Reisha Bullock, a 5-9 sophomore guard from Kenner (DeLaSalle),La., has been a catalyst in Co-Lin’s consistent residence in thenational spotlight. She transferred from Iowa Western.

Sophomores Alisha Mason of Ruth (Enterprise) and Kristen Ellisof Vicksburg were key members of last season’s 30-5 Co-Lin squadthat finished sixth in the NJCAA National Tournament at Salina,Kan. Shalenia Wilcher of McCall Creek (Franklin County), anothersophomore, has been a boost to the team.

Newcomers like Sondra Moncure of Utica (Hinds AHS), Rhonda Dumasof Harvey (John Ehret), La., and Shrica Ward of Jackson (ForestHill) have been instrumental in the team’s success.

Southwest, coached by Mark Swindle, also has designs on achampionship. His Lady Bears are 9-1 on the season, fresh from anexciting South Division comeback win over Gulf Coast on the road atPerkinston. They have won 9 straight games.

“Going on the road and winning is like picking up two wins,”said Swindle after the victory at Gulf Coast. In other words, teamswith title dreams better win all of their home games because it’sextremely difficult to win on the road.

Against Gulf Coast, where they erased a 14-point halftimedeficit, the Lady Bears were led by Kim Griffin and Phenicia Taylorwith 18 points apiece. Griffin is a 6-foot sophomore from Woodvilleand Taylor is a 5-8 guard from Summit.

Lurking in the near future is South Division power East Central(10-1, 1-0), ranked No. 13 in the nation.

Meanwhile, the Co-Lin and Southwest men’s teams are battling toimprove their performance during the South Division swing. TheWolves surprised Pearl River 54-48 Monday night while the Bearswere falling to Gulf Coast 80-75.

Co-Lin (7-4, 1-0) is anchored by five sophomores: 6-8 centerGreg Truvillion of East Lansing, Mich., 6-5 forward Anthony Wilcherof McCall Creek, 6-1 point guard Corey London of Birmingham, Ala.,6-5 forward Lawanski Newsome of Mendenhall and 6-3 guard JuliusBlanks of Gautier.

The Wolves’ new sharpshooter is freshman guard Trent Hutchin ofBaton Rouge, La. He leads the Wolves in scoring. Truvillion is topsin rebounding and runner-up in scoring.

Southwest (4-7, 0-1) got an outstanding 42-point performancefrom Aubrey Coleman in the loss to Gulf Coast. Coleman is a 6-4sophomore from Houston, Texas.

Coach Bill Wallace also counts on 6-4 sophomore Terencio Powellof Terry and 6-4 sophomore Rodney Brumfield of Amite, La.,to carrymuch of the offensive load.

Gulf Coast overcame a 9-point, second-half deficit to beat theBears. In other words, no lead is safe in basketball.

Ahhh, the rites of spring.

Barry Wesson will hold his 6th Annual Pro Baseball Clinic onSaturday, Jan. 26, at Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson. The camp isopen to youngsters age 6-14.

The $80 camp fee will include a team photo, camp T-shirt, pizza,a drink and a camp photo. Camp begins at 8:30 a.m. and concludes at2 p.m.

Special guest will be pitcher Roy Oswalt of the Houston Astros.Other camp instructors are Chad Alexander, Clint King, Brent Leach,Jonathan Van Every, Jud Thigpen, Blake Jones and Pete Young.

For more information, contact Wesson at 512.925.3058, or512.925.9176 or 601.833.8073. He is married to the former StacieFitzsimmons of Brookhaven.

Write to sports editor Tom Goetz, c/o The DAILY LEADER, P.O.BOX 551, Brookhaven, MS 39602 or e-mailsports@dailyleader.com