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Southwest Mississippi Community College

Scoreboard

Deville Smith vs. PR
Chuck Barnes

Men's Basketball Michael D. Gunnell, Southwest Sports Information

Bears win seventh straight, clinch playoff spot

 
The Southwest Bears put a special end to a special night in front of a near-capacity home crowd Monday with a nail-biting 68-66 win over 19th ranked Pearl River. It was the seventh straight win for the Bears. Earlier, the Lady Bears got the night started off right with a 59-50 win over their counterparts from Poplarville.
 
On hand to witness the sweep were members of the 1962-63 Southwest men’s team who were on hand to commemorate the 50th anniversary of their state championship.
 
With their win, the Bears moved to 14-7 on the season and secured for them a spot in the upcoming MACJC state tournament. The Bears’ 7-3 South Division mark has them now in second place ahead of Jones County, thanks to the Bobcats’ loss to Hinds.
 
Southwest closes out its home campaign Thursday by hosting Hinds. Game times are 5:30 for the women and 7:15 for the men.
 
The Bears were expecting a tough fight against Pearl River (17-3, 8-2) and that was exactly what they got. The Wildcats took control of the game early on, going up 5-0 and leading by as many as seven points, 24-17, with just over 12:00 to go in the half.
 
But, going on an 11-3 run, the Bears roared back to take a 28-27 lead on a Deville Smith jumper with 5:43 left in the half. Pearl River then regained the lead, 29-28, with 5:26 to play. But, an 11-4 run, capped by a Smith free throw, propelled the Bears to a 39-33 lead at the break.
 
With 10:24 to play in the game, Southwest went on top 56-49 on a Corey Williams two-pointer. The Wildcats showed they would not go away quietly, however, as they outscored Southwest 17-7 over the next 8:19 to take a 66-63 lead with 2:05 showing on the clock.
 
After Smith nailed a pair of free throws to make the score 66-65, he then brought the crowd to its feet with a basket to put the Bears on top 67-66 with 0:26 to play. After a Mark Bridgewater free throw added one point to the Bears’ lead, Pearl River had one last shot at victory, but a turnover ended their hopes.
 
“I’m impressed with the way our guys were able to come off such an emotional win against our rival (Co-Lin, Thursday night) and still play with energy and focus tonight,” said Southwest head coach Casey Carter. “Again, we have to thank the fans and student body for providing a great environment that definitely provides out guys with (that) energy.”
 
“Deville was great at the end of the game, once again,” Carter went on. It’s comforting to know that we have such a talented player. Corey and Quintarius Porter were huge off the bench for us and we continue to need to have different people step up.”
 
Smith led the charge for Southwest with a game-high 19 points and nine assists. Also in double figures were Deione Weeks and Donovan Ross with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
 
Williams added eight points while Porter chipped in seven. Bridgewater netted four points and Devin Flowers and Mikel Henry both had three. The Bears made 13 of 18 free throws.
 
Pearl River was led by Demondre Harvey’s 14 points. The Wildcats hit 10 of 13 free throws.
         
  Box Score------
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