It was a case of close, but not close enough, for the Southwest basketball teams Monday night as both squads ended the first half of the MACJC South Division schedule with tough losses at Hinds. A game-winning shot at the buzzer clanged off the rim as the Bears went down 81-79 while the Lady Bears suffered a tough 69-65 loss.
The loss for the Bears, their seventh in eight road trips, dropped them to 8-9 overall and 3-3 in the Division. Their Division record puts them in third place. Hinds moved to 5-11 overall and 4-2.
The men’s game was fast-paced and exciting from the start with eight ties and seven lead changes in the first 20:00. The biggest lead of the half for the Bulldogs, 4-1, came with 18:34 to play in the half. A Devin Flowers three-pointer with 0:31 on the clock gave Southwest its largest lead, 40-47. The Bears went into the break on top 47-42.
An offensive rebound and basket by Josh Brannon with 18:11 to play in the game capped a 6-0 to start the second half and gave the Bears their biggest lead of the night, 53-42. But, Hinds refused to surrender and battled back to take a 56-55 lead on a Dominique Brown three-pointer, completing a 14-2 Bulldog run with 14:35 left in the game.
With momentum clearly on their side, the Bulldogs moved out to a nine-point lead, 71-62, with 8:47 on the clock. But, a determined Southwest team showed they had some fight left in them as they drew back into a 75-75 tie on a Mark Bridgewater basket with 2:45 to go. The Bears then went up 77-75 on a Cory Lacy two-pointer with 1:16 showing on the clock.
A three-pointer from Carlo McDonald put the Bulldogs back on top 78-77 with 0:48 and he added a free throw for an 80-77 lead with 0:10 to play. A Kevin Welch free throw then made the score 81-79 with 0:03 to play.
Having to bring the ball the length of the court, the Bears had one last chance at victory. However, it was not to be as a three-point, game-winning attempt from Bridgewater hit the rim and fell to the floor as the buzzer sounded leaving Hinds with the hard-fought win.
“For the first time on the road, when faced with adversity, we finally showed some fight,” said Southwest head coach Casey Carter. “I told my guys that we’re going to keep our heads up and we will use what we learned tonight to make us better the next time we’re in a dogfight on the road.”
“We had a chance to beat a really good team on the road,” Carter went on, “and that’s all we can ask for. We’re making the strides needed to compete in this league on a consistent basis and I could not be more proud of them.”
Lacy led four Bears in double figures, and topped all scorers, with 21 points on the night. Bridgewater scored 13 points while Flowers had 11 and Wesley Blackmon 10.
Parker Moore scored nine points for Southwest with Michael Hall picking up seven. Josh Brannon and Mikel Henry both added four points. The Bears hit nine of 15 free throws and outrebounded Hinds 44-34.
Brown and McDonald both scored 18 points to lead the Bulldogs. Hinds hit 17 of 27 free throws.
