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Southwest Mississippi Community College

Scoreboard

Bears escape Hinds with 92-87 win in OT

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

Men's Basketball | 2/21/2017 6:32:00 AM

Box Score

With a pair of Antonio Cowart, Jr., free throws sealing the deal, the Bears overcame a stiff test in Utica to get a 92-87 overtime win over the host Hinds Bulldogs.
 
With the win, the Bears climbed to 16-6 overall and, at 10-3 in the MACJC South Division, locked up the #2 seed for the South in next week's state tournament. Hinds dropped to 11-11 and 3-10.
 
A Rodrick Sikes short-range jumper gave the Bears an 11-7 lead with 14:45 left in the first half. An 11-0 run by Hinds then left them on top 18-11 with 10:38 before the break.
 
After the Bears cut their deficit to 18-13, Hinds then outscored the Bears 9-3 to go up 27-16 with 7:54 on the clock.
 
A 15-4 run by the Bears, capped by a Guy Johnson bucket, tied the game at 31-31 with 2:20 showing. Hinds then recaptured the lead, 35-32, before a pair of
Jeremy Harrell free throws sent the teams into the locker room with Hinds up 35-34 at the end of the half.
 
The Bears quickly regained the lead at 36-35 on Emanuel Thompson's layup early in the second half, but Hinds scored nine of 11 points to take a 44-36 lead with 17:17 left in the game.
 
Trailing 51-46, the Bears' offense then began firing on all cylinders as they exploded for a 22-4 run to take their biggest lead of the night, 68-55, with 7:08 left in the game.
 
Figuring that turnabout is fair play, Hinds then closed out regulation on an 18-5 run to knot the game at 73-73 and force the extra period.
 
Hinds took a 79-75 lead with 3:57 left in overtime. But, capped by a Bryce Baker jumper, the Bears scored 10 of the next 13 points to go up 85-82 with 1:49 on the clock.
 
Hinds scored five of the next seven points to trim the Bears' lead to 87-85 with 0:14 to go. After a Johnson free throw gave the Bears a three-point lead, 90-87, Cowart, Jr., stepped to the line with 0:04 on the clock to put matters to rest for the Bears.
 
"I'm proud of the way our guys handled adversity tonight in a tough environment against a really good team," said Bears head man Thomas Gray. "I thought our guys made a few really big plays down the stretch."
 
Concluding his post-game remarks, Gray said, "This is a game that I hope will help prepare us and give us confidence playing away from home moving forward."
 
Sikes topped the Bears' offense with 25 points. Johnson totaled 15 points in the game while Cowart, Jr., scored 13 and Thompson had 11. Cowart, Jr., pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Bears on the boards. The Bears were nearly perfect from the free throw line, hitting 27 of 31.
 
Hinds' Kourey Davis led all scorers in the game with 34 points. The hosts were also nearly perfect at the free throw line as they hit 17 of 21.
 
The Bears hit the court for the final time in the regular season as they face the Mississippi Gulf Coast Bulldogs Thursday night in Perkinston. The game is set for a 7:30 tipoff.
 
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Players Mentioned

Jeremy Harrell

#1 Jeremy Harrell

F/C
6' 7"
Freshman
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
Bryce Baker

#23 Bryce Baker

G/F
6' 5"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Jeremy Harrell

#1 Jeremy Harrell

6' 7"
Freshman
F/C
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
Bryce Baker

#23 Bryce Baker

6' 5"
Sophomore
G/F