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Southwest Mississippi Community College

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Bears end four-game skid against Bulldogs

By: Michael D. Gunnell, Southwest Sports Information
Xavion Dillon

Men's Basketball | 2/3/2015 7:01:00 AM

Box Score---
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The Southwest Bears picked up a much-needed win Monday in Utica as they ended a four-game skid with a 60-54 win over the home standing Hinds Bulldogs.
 
With the win, the Bears moved to 7-10 overall and, at 4-5 in the MACJC South Division, stayed in the chase for a position in next month's state tournament (Mississippi Gulf Coast and East Central are both 5-4 in the South). Hinds dropped to 8-10 and 3-6.
 
Hinds held an early 5-2 lead before a Xavion Dillon three-pointer and old-fashioned three-point play put the Bears on top 13-10 with 14:34 left in the opening half. The Bears later scored seven straight to go up 20-12 with 9:30 on the clock.
 
The Bulldogs pulled back to within four points, 20-16, with 5:51 to go before the Bears closed out the half on a 9-0 run to take a 29-16 lead into the locker room.
 
Two free throws and a three-pointer from David Burrell early in the second half gave the Bears a 34-18 advantage with 17:57 left in the game. A 10-1 run later brought the hosts back to within seven points, 37-30, with 12:39 to play.
 
A Trent Jeffries three-pointer then ignited a 12-4 Bears run, capped by a Lafayette Rutledge trey, to extend the Bears' lead back to double-digits, 49-34, with 9:37 remaining.
 
The Bulldogs outscored the Bears 17-8 in the final 5:05 of the game, but it would not be enough as the Bears held on for the six-point win.
 
"It's a win we really needed," said Bears' head man Thomas Gray. "It's no secret we lost four in a row-but not to bad teams. We lost to three of the top four teams (in the South Division) and I felt like we should have won a couple of them."
 
"I told our guys (that) just because we lost those games coming into this one, it wasn't because we were doing badly," Gray continued. "I think those other teams just played really well against us.
 
"I thought the way we started this game" made the difference, said Gray. "We needed to come out of the gate with a different mentality and really set the tone with our defense and tonight I thought we did that. I thought down the stretch, offensively, we became complacent and a little bit out of our rhythm. We were just fortunate enough to get out of here with a victory."
 
The Bears' Jaylen Moore led all scorers with 13 points (He also totaled six assists) while Cliff Fernandez came off the bench to score 10 points.
 
Burrell, Dillon and Rutledge all finished the game with nine points. Jeffries picked up five while LeDerrius Simmons recorded three and Chris McIntosh added two. The Bears made 14 of 18 free throws.
 
DeAndre Bolton led Hinds with 11 point. The Bulldogs hit 11 of 14 free throws.
 
The Bears return to the home court Thursday night when they host Meridian. Tipoff is set for 7:15.
 
 
 
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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
LeDerrius Simmons

#4 LeDerrius Simmons

G
5' 8"
Freshman
Chris McIntosh

#5 Chris McIntosh

G/F
6' 4"
Freshman
Trent Jeffries

#11 Trent Jeffries

G/F
6' 4"
Sophomore
Jaylen Moore

#12 Jaylen Moore

G
6' 1"
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
LeDerrius Simmons

#4 LeDerrius Simmons

5' 8"
Freshman
G
Chris McIntosh

#5 Chris McIntosh

6' 4"
Freshman
G/F
Trent Jeffries

#11 Trent Jeffries

6' 4"
Sophomore
G/F
Jaylen Moore

#12 Jaylen Moore

6' 1"
Sophomore
G
Cliff Fernandez

#22 Cliff Fernandez

6' 6"
Freshman
F/C