Co-Lin Wolves extend streak to 6 wins

Published 9:18 pm Tuesday, January 23, 2018

The Copiah-Lincoln Community College Wolves stretched their win streak to six Monday night as the Wolves defeated the Southwest Bears 83-79. The win moves the Wolves to 13-1 on the season and 4-1 in the always-competitive MACJC South Division. Southwest falls to 12-2 on the year and 3-2 in division play. Co-Lin faces the Meridian Eagles Thursday in Mullen Gymnasium at 8 p.m.

The Wolves held the lead early in the contest Monday night, but the Bears stuck around and took over 18-16 midway through the opening half. Southwest went on a 9-1 run over the next five minutes and led by eight, 27-19, with 5:48 remaining in the half. The Wolves did not back down, and tied the game at 31 just four minutes later. Darrian Wilson and Tray Lawson led the Wolves short come back with two big three-pointers. At the half the Bears led the Wolves 33-32.

Southwest stretched its lead early in the second half as the Bears took advantage of trips to the free throw line. The Wolves refused to let the Bears run away with game and scrapped for points on the offensive end of the floor, but the Bears had grown their lead to seven, 49-42, with 15:08 on the clock. Over the next four minutes, using a team effort, the Wolves offense came to life and went on a 17-4 run to swing the game to Co-Lin’s favor. Co-Lin led, 59-53, midway through the second half.

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Co-Lin grew that lead late in the game to as much as 12, 73-61, with just under six minutes to play, but the Bears rallied and cut Co-Lin’s lead to just two, 80-78 with just 19 seconds remaining. Lazorian McNulty made two big free throws with 13 seconds on the clock to stretch the Wolves lead to four, and Lawson made a key steal in the final 10 seconds to secure the road win.

Anthony Jones, a sophomore from Wesson, led the Wolves with 16 points. Wilson scored 14 after shooting 4-for-5 from three-point range. Youry White had his sixth double-double on the year, and second in a row, after scoring 13 points and leading the Wolves with 13 rebounds. Lawson added 12 points, and Damarius Brooks scored 11 to round out the Wolves top scorers. Jonathan Floyd led the Wolves in assists with four.

Antonio Cowart, Jr. led the Bears with 20 points, while Jeremy Harrell scored 13. Harrell and Roydell Brown led Southwest on the boards with seven rebounds.

Co-Lin shot 48 percent (30-for-63) from the field, 41 percent (7-for-17) from the three-point line, and 59 percent (16-for-27) from the foul stripe. The Bears finished the night shooting 35 percent (23-for-65) from the field, 22 percent (6-for-27) from beyond the arc, and 60 percent (27-for-45) from the free throw line.

Lady Wolves

The Lady Wolves sent Monday’s contest to overtime with an explosive fourth quarter, but came up short as Southwest defeated them 64-62. The loss gives the Lady Wolves a 12-2 record on the season and 3-2 in the MACJC South Division. Southwest moves to 11-3, 2-3 on the year. The Lady Wolves are back Thursday at 6 p.m. as Co-Lin hosts Meridian.

Monday’s game was tight throughout the fast-paced first half as the lead changed hands seven times before intermission. Co-Lin rattled off a 7-2 run in the final three minutes of the half to cut the Lady Bears lead to just two, 32-30, as the teams entered the locker room.

Co-Lin had third quarter woes after the break as Southwest went on a 13-3 run over the first five minutes of the quarter. The quick second half start gave the Lady Bears a 45-33 lead with 4:25 remaining in the period. Southwest stretched that lead for the remainder of the quarter and led by 18, 56-38, going into the fourth.

The fourth quarter proved completely opposite of the third as the Lady Wolves found their offensive rhythm and battled back. Co-Lin turned the corner with 5:36 remaining after Alexus Holt and T’Kyra Hicks hit back-to-back threes to cut the Lady Bears lead to 12, 58-46. Karry Callahan followed suit and made two layups in the following minutes to cut Southwest’s lead to eight. The Lady Wolves continued to chip away, and with just 10 seconds on the clock a Holt layup tied the game at 58 all. The Lady Wolves outscored the Lady Bears 20-2 in the fourth quarter, and 18-0 in the final six minutes to send the game to overtime.

Overtime was very physical, and low scoring. Play was back-and-forth for the first four minutes of the extra frame, and with 10 seconds remaining in the game Southwest’s Jamaya Galloway rolled in a layup to give the Lady Bears a 64-62 lead. Co-Lin tried to answer on the other end of the floor, but Hicks’ jump shot rattled off the front of the rim.

Brittany Rose, a sophomore from Jackson led the Lady Wolves in the scoring column after coming off the bench and scoring 14. Callahan scored 13, and Hicks netted 10 on the night. Diamond Smith led the Lady Wolves on the glass with 11 rebounds. The 6’3” sophomore also had nine points and a season high six blocks. Callahan was also dominant on the boards with nine rebounds.

Danyelle Lewis led the Lady Bears with 18 points, while Rachel Thompson posted a double-double after going for 13 points and 11 rebounds. Kacie Fountain posted eight rebounds and led Southwest in assists with nine.

Co-Lin shot 38 percent (26-for-68) from the field, 26 percent (6-for-23) from the three-point line, and 33 percent (4-for-12) from the foul stripe. The Lady Bears finished the night shooting 39 percent (26-for-67) from the field, 50 percent (6-for-12) from beyond the arc, and 67 percent (6-for-9) from the free throw line.