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Southwest Mississippi Community College

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Bears vs Meridian

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

Bears pick up huge win at Meridian

Box Score----
/documents/2015/1/14//bearsmer.pdf?id=553

The Southwest Bears picked up a huge win, and scored their first road victory of the season, as they prevailed 53-49 in a low-scoring affair over the host Meridian Eagles Tuesday night.
 
The win moved the Bears to 5-6 on the season and, more importantly, 2-1 in the MACJC's South Division. Meridian fell to 6-5 and 0-3.
 
The Eagles took an early 2-0 lead. But, jump-started by a David Burrell (Milwaukee, WI) layup, the Bears quickly went on a 10-0 run and went up 10-2 with 17:02 left in the half.
 
After a Lafayette Rutledge (Gautier, MS) three-pointer gave the Bears a 13-4 lead with 13:02 on the clock. The Eagles then put together an 11-4 run to draw back to within two points, 17-15, with 5:50 before the break.
 
The Bears went back up by seven, 22-15, with 3:52 on the clock before the Eagles again cut their deficit down to two, 22-20, at 1:09 of the half. Justin McCray (Ridgeland, MS) then nailed a pair of free throws to give the Bears a 24-20 halftime advantage.
 
The Bears played a "bend, but don't break defense" in the second half. After seeing the Eagles tie the game at 24-24 with 19:37 left, a Xavion Dillon (Tylertown, MS) bucket and McCray free throws put the Bears back up by four, 28-24, with 18:09 to go.
 
After the Eagles tied the game again, 32-32, with 11:15 to play, the Bears again withstood the challenge and scored eight of the game's next 11 points to go up by five, 40-35, with 7:14 to play.
 
The Eagles tied the game one last time, 40-40, with 5:52 remaining. The Bears again answered the challenge as Cliff Fernandez (Sandy Hook, MS) completed an old-fashioned three-point play to put his squad up 43-40 with 4:59 showing on the clock.
 
A Jaylen Moore (Gulfport, MS)e free throw gave the Bears a six-point, 47-41 lead with 2:06 still to go and that proved to be their final margin of victory.
 
"The difference (in the game)," said Southwest head coach Thomas Gray, "was our guys coming out as a team. This is the most we've played as a team this year, especially on the defensive end."
 
"I thought  we did a great job defending Meridian as a team," Gray went on, "and guarding them in a way that we had picked out as a coaching staff, that we had done in our practices leading up to this and just carrying out that game plan. I thought our guys were for each other. I thought there was great energy on the bench (and) on the floor. And, that was the difference."
 
Rutledge led the Bears' offense with 11 points, and five assists, in the game. Trent Jeffries (Gulfport, MS) scored nine points while Dillon had eight and McCray picked up seven.
 
Fernandez and Moore both had five points in the game with CJ Polite (Charlotte, NC) netting four and Burrell and Chris McIntosh (Jackson, MS) both recording two. The Bears made 13 of their 19 free throws.
 
Meridian's Devontae Brewser topped all scorers with 15 points. The Eagles made eight of 15 free throws.
 
The Bears return to the home court Thursday night when they host South Division foe Mississippi Gulf Coast in a scheduled 7:15 contest.
 
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Players Mentioned

Xavion Dillon

#1 Xavion Dillon

F
6' 7"
Sophomore
David Burrell

#2 David Burrell

F
6' 6"
Freshman
Lafayette Rutledge

#3 Lafayette Rutledge

G
5' 11"
Freshman
Chris McIntosh

#5 Chris McIntosh

G/F
6' 4"
Freshman
CJ Polite

#10 CJ Polite

F/C
6' 7"
Sophomore
Trent Jeffries

#11 Trent Jeffries

G/F
6' 4"
Sophomore
Jaylen Moore

#12 Jaylen Moore

G
6' 1"
Sophomore
Justin McCray

#14 Justin McCray

F
6' 6"
Sophomore
Cliff Fernandez

#22 Cliff Fernandez

F/C
6' 6"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Xavion Dillon

#1 Xavion Dillon

6' 7"
Sophomore
F
David Burrell

#2 David Burrell

6' 6"
Freshman
F
Lafayette Rutledge

#3 Lafayette Rutledge

5' 11"
Freshman
G
Chris McIntosh

#5 Chris McIntosh

6' 4"
Freshman
G/F
CJ Polite

#10 CJ Polite

6' 7"
Sophomore
F/C
Trent Jeffries

#11 Trent Jeffries

6' 4"
Sophomore
G/F
Jaylen Moore

#12 Jaylen Moore

6' 1"
Sophomore
G
Justin McCray

#14 Justin McCray

6' 6"
Sophomore
F
Cliff Fernandez

#22 Cliff Fernandez

6' 6"
Freshman
F/C