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Southwest Mississippi Community College

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Bears fall at home to 10th-ranked Jones County

By: Michael D. Gunnell, Southwest Sports Information
Guy Johnson

Men's Basketball | 2/14/2017 6:31:00 AM

Box Score

Unable to hold on to an early lead, the home standing Bears dropped a tough 78-69 decision to the 10th-ranked Jones County Bobcats Monday night.
 
With the loss, the Bears fell to 14-6 overall and 8-3, good for second place, in the MACJC South. Jones County climbed to 19-1 and 10-1.
 
Buckets from Guy Johnson and Antonio Cowart, Jr., gave the Bears an early 7-2 lead in the contest. Jones County then outscored the Bears 12-4 to go on top 14-11 with 14:04 before the end of the half.
 
Layups from Johnson and Emanuel Thompson put the Bears back on top, 15-14, with 13:19 on the clock. But, Jones County quickly regained the lead, 18-15, with 11:29 showing.
 
Trailing 27-20, the Bears went on an 8-1 run and tied the game at 28 on Rodrick Sikes' free throw with 2:44 on the clock. Jones County then outscored the Bears, 10-2, to end the half and took a 38-30 lead into the break.
 
A three pointer from Johnson pulled the Bears to within five, 38-33, early in the second half, but Jones County quickly responded and extended their lead to 42-33 with 17:45 to play.
 
After James Hawthorne scored to bring to Bears to within 43-37, Jones County scored five straight to move ahead by 11, 48-37, with 13:54 still to go.
 
Down 62-47, the Bears went on a 13-4 run to narrow their deficit to 66-60 with 5:43 remaining. Unfortunately, they would get no closer as Jones County went on to claim the nine-point victory.
 
"I thought we came out strong and had the momentum on our side early," said Bears head coach Thomas Gray. "We (then) went in a scoring drought in the first half and that put a lot of pressure on us defensively."
 
"I think, looking back on film, we will see that we had our chances, but just made too many costly turnovers that led to scores by them (Jones County). This is a game we're going to get better from and learn about ways we can improve."
 
Cowart, Jr., topped the Bears' offense with 15 points (he also led the team on the boards with nine rebounds). Hawthorne totaled 14 points while Johnson and Sikes both scored 12. The Bears made 16 of 21 free throws.
 
Jones County's Bruce Stevens led all scorers with 16 points. The visitors went 23-31 at the free throw line.
 
The Bears make their final home court appearance of the regular season Thursday night with a 7:15 South Division matchup against arch-rival Co-Lin.
 
 
 
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Players Mentioned

James Hawthorne

#2 James Hawthorne

F
6' 7"
Sophomore
Antonio Cowart, Jr.

#4 Antonio Cowart, Jr.

G
6' 3"
Freshman
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

Players Mentioned

James Hawthorne

#2 James Hawthorne

6' 7"
Sophomore
F
Antonio Cowart, Jr.

#4 Antonio Cowart, Jr.

6' 3"
Freshman
G
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