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Behind Sikes' 38 point night, Bears upset 9th ranked Jones County In Ellisville

By: Michael D. Gunnell, Southwest Sports Information
Rodrick Sikes

Men's Basketball | 1/20/2017 6:48:00 AM

BOX SCORE

Riding the 38-point performance of sophomore Rodrick Sikes, the Bears shot the lights out Thursday night in Ellisville as they upset the 9th-ranked Jones County Bobcats 97-92 in MACJC South Division action.
 
The Bears went 34-50 from the field (68%), including 11 of 20 (55%) from three-point range, and hit 18 of 25 free throws (72%) to remain undefeated in the South, at 4-0, and 10-3 overall. The Bobcats fell to 12-1 and 3-1.
 
Sikes had the Bears up 5-0 early with a layup and the first of his seven three pointers. Minutes later, the Bears took their biggest lead of the night, 19-10, on a
Mike Parks, Jr., jumper with 13:40 left in the half.
 
Going on a 10-2 run, the Bobcats closed the gap to 21-20 before Emanuel Thompson's trey made it 24-20 with 10:05 left in the half.
 
Later in the half, six straight points from the Bobcats left them on top 30-26 with 7:45 before the break. They then took their biggest lead of the half, 41-34, with 5:16 showing on the clock.
 
After a Sikes three pointer brought the Bears to within 46-45, the Bobcats scored seven of the final nine points of the half to take a 53-47 lead into the break.
 
The Bobcats extended their lead to 57-47 early in the second half, their biggest lead of the night.
 
After a Guy Johnson short-range jumper left the Bears down 64-60, the Bobcats quickly went back up by nine, 69-60, with 13:01 to go.
 
Showing they still had plenty of fight left, the Bears went on a 14-3 run and took a 74-72 lead on Sikes' jumper with 9:31 to play.
 
Moving to the 3:58 mark, the Bobcats got a four-play play from David Davis to take a 90-85 lead. Not to be outdone, Sikes returned the favor with his own four-point play to cut the Bears' deficit to 90-89 with 3:47 left.
 
Trailing 92-89, the Bears cut the Bobcats' lead to 92-91 on a pair of Sikes free throws and took a 93-92 lead on Sean Smith's layup with 1:11 left. Sikes' then nailed a jumper to make the score 95-92 with 0:33 on the clock.
 
After an errant three point shot by the Bobcats and a rebound by Smith, James Hawthorne found the ball in his hands. Fouled by the home team, Hawthorne calmly stepped to the free throw line and hit both free throws to seal the deal for the Bears.
 
"What a game," Bears head coach Thomas Gray said later. "We are extremely fortunate to walk away with a win against a great team like Jones."
 
Praising his squad Gray said, "I can't say enough about the fight our team had on the road, being down 10 at one point, and our guys continually giving their best effort for all 40 minutes. These guys really laid it on the line for each other tonight and I couldn't be more proud of them."
 
Sikes went 12 of 16 from the field, including 7-11 from behind the three-point arc, and hit all seven of his free throws in recording his Southwest career high, and his second 30 plus performance of the season.
 
Hawthorne and Johnson both scored 12 points for the Bears while Thompson scored 11 and Parks, Jr., had 10.

Stevens topped the Bobcats' offense with 29 points. The Bobcats went 14-15 from the free throw line.
 
For their next game, the Bears make the short trip to Wesson as they face arch-rival Co-Lin on January 23. Tipoff of the South Division contest is slated for 8:00.
 
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Players Mentioned

James Hawthorne

#2 James Hawthorne

F
6' 7"
Sophomore
Guy Johnson

#11 Guy Johnson

G
6' 0"
Sophomore
Rodrick Sikes

#14 Rodrick Sikes

G
6' 1"
Sophomore
Emanuel Thompson

#21 Emanuel Thompson

G/F
6' 4"
Sophomore
Mike Parks, Jr.

#22 Mike Parks, Jr.

C
6' 9"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

James Hawthorne

#2 James Hawthorne

6' 7"
Sophomore
F
Guy Johnson

#11 Guy Johnson

6' 0"
Sophomore
G
Rodrick Sikes

#14 Rodrick Sikes

6' 1"
Sophomore
G
Emanuel Thompson

#21 Emanuel Thompson

6' 4"
Sophomore
G/F
Mike Parks, Jr.

#22 Mike Parks, Jr.

6' 9"
Sophomore
C