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Southwest Mississippi Community College

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Bears move into state semis with convincing win over Itawamba

By: Michael D. Gunnell, Southwest Sports Information
Antonio Cowart, Jr.
jucoweekly.org

Men's Basketball | 2/28/2017 8:11:00 PM

Box Score

The Bears began defense of their state title in convincing fashion Tuesday afternoon with an 82-55 win over the Itawamba Community College Indians in round one of the MACJC state tournament in Ellisville.
 
The win propelled the Bears (17-7) into Wednesday's semifinal round where they will meet the North Division champion Northeast Mississippi Tigers (18-6) at 3:00.
 
A victory seemed anything but certain in the early going as the Bears found themselves down 7-0 just 1:30 into the game. The quick deficit seemed to ignite a fire in the Bears as a Mike Parks, Jr.., layup sent them on a 31-6 run. Ending the run with a jumper, Rodrick Sikes put the Bears on top 31-13 with 8:38 left in the first half.
 
Regaining their focus, the Indians (11-12) responded with an 18-5 run to end the half that left the Bears with a 36-31 lead at intermission.
 
The Indians' momentum seemed to follow them into the second half as they scored the first three points to trim the Bears' lead to 36-34 with 18:40 left in the game.
 
That would prove to be the Indians' last gasp. With jumpers from Guy Johnson and Antonio Cowart, Jr.. serving as bookends, the Bears went on a 30-10 run that found them on top 65-44 with 7:48 on the clock.
 
The Indians would come no closer than 18 points the rest of the way and reached their final margin of victory with a pair of Mario Doyle free throws with 1:26 remaining.
 
"I was excited to see our team play with a lot of energy," said Bears' head coach Thomas Gray. "I believe that energy was really shown by our effort and activity on the defensive end. Offensively, I thought we made a team effort in terms of scoring and I thought we really protected the ball well. In terms of protecting the ball, this was one of our better games in limiting turnovers (the Bears recorded only nine)."
 
"Tomorrow," Gray concluded, "we will have our hands full with a really talented and tough Northeast squad."
 
Cowart, Jr., led the Bears' offense with16 points while Sikes was also in double figures with 15 points. James Hawthorne led the Bears on the boards with 10 rebounds while Sean Smith blocked five shots.
 
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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
Sean Smith

#15 Sean Smith

F
6' 7"
Sophomore
Mike Parks, Jr.

#22 Mike Parks, Jr.

C
6' 9"
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
Sean Smith

#15 Sean Smith

6' 7"
Sophomore
F
Mike Parks, Jr.

#22 Mike Parks, Jr.

6' 9"
Sophomore
C