Lady Wolves plug Pearl River; Co-Lin men fall

Published 8:00 pm Friday, February 22, 2013

WESSON – Weather warning sirens wailed loudly across the Co-Lin campus Thursday night, evidence of a tornado warning for Copiah County. Basketball fans gathered in Mullen Gymnasium were instructed to leave the stands and seek shelter along the interior walls of the facility, at the conclusion of the women’s game.

The Co-Lin Lady Wolves howled to another South Division victory, beating the Lady Wildcats 60-42. They were directed by sophomore guard Tiffany Sims with 12 points. Chanta Poole and Jessica Wilson each added 10 points.

In the men’s game, powerful Pearl River romped to a 77-62 win, avenging an earlier loss to Co-Lin at Poplarville. The Wildcats (19-14, 9-3) were directed by freshman guard Deangelo Coleman of Magnolia (South Pike) with 19 points.

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The Lady Wolves (20-3, 11-1) are seeded No. 1 out of the South in next week’s State Tournament at Poplarville. They’ll play Monday afternoon at 5 p.m., against Mississippi Delta, the No. 4 team out of the North.

Sims, a 5-foot-5 Mendenhall product, helped lead Co-Lin to a lopsided 36-14 halftime lead. Wilson led on the backboards with 8 rebounds.

“Coach (Gwyn Young) said I had to pick the team up on defense,” said Sims. “We do everything as a team. Our bond is better than last year.”

Sims also had 2 assists, 2 steals and 3 rebounds in the win. She is confident the Lady Wolves can bring home a state championship.

“We should win state but we have to come ready to play,” said Sims. “Everybody wants to beat us.”

Coach Young was able to substitute earlier than usual. His team accounted for 23 steals and PRCC committed 33 turnovers. They shot a chilly 33 percent from the field in their final home game and made just 1 of 14 shot from beyond the arc.

“Our first half defense was really good,” said Coach Young. “I was well-pleased with the effort. We had little letdown the second half.”

Young’s team was minus leading scorer and rebounder Vintrice Briggs. An ankle injury forced the sophomore from Franklin County to miss a second straight game.

Pearl River (6-13, 4-8), coached by Toby Bush, got a game-high 14 points and 7 rebounds from Daiquari Raine, a 6-foot sophomore post from Poplarville.

The Wildcats, coached by Richard Mathis, are ranked No. 19 in the latest NJCAA Division I national poll. The win avenged an 83-69, Jan. 28 loss at Poplarville. They earned the right to host this season’s State Tournament in Shivers Gymnasium.

Frank Snow scored 15 points and snatched 6 rebounds for the Wildcats. Daniel Grieves added 14 points and 9 rebounds. Xavier Rimmer, a 6-2 sophomore from Piney Woods, had 10 rebounds.

“We shot the ball extremely well when we beat them at their place,” said Co-Lin men’s coach Dennis Sims. “This time we didn’t. We shot it poorly. Pearl River is a big, strong, physical team.”

The Wolves (4-19, 2-10) couldn’t’ cope with PRCC’s superior size and depth. Sophomore guard Joe Cunningham scored 17 point and was the only Co-Lin player in double figures. The team shot 39 percent from the field and was outrebounded 38-29.