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Southwest Mississippi Community College

Scoreboard

Bears defeat visiting East Central in overtime thriller

By: Michael D. Gunnell, Southwest Sports Information
Roydell Brown

Men's Basketball | 2/1/2018 10:56:00 PM

Playing what head coach Thomas Gray said was "our guys' hardest played game (of the season), the Bears ended a three-game slide Thursday night with a thrilling 92-88 overtime MACJC South Division win at home over the visiting East Central Warriors.
 
The win moved the Bears to 13-4 on the season and 4-4 in the South. East Central dropped to 8-9 and 2-6.
 
The game was tight from the beginning with three ties in the first 3:14. But, with the game knotted 9-9, a Howard Smith three pointer started the Bears on a 12-2 run, capped by an Antonio Cowart, Jr.., short-range jumper, that left them with a 21-11 lead with 11:56 before halftime.
 
Just 2:23 later, a Roydell Brown layup extended the Bears' lead to 25-13 with 9:33 on the clock.
 
The Warriors then went on a scoring spree, outscoring the Bears 19-7 tie the game at 32-32 with 0:34 on the clock. A John Knight III bucket with 0:11 remaining then sent the Bears into the locker room with a 34-32 lead at intermission.
 
The Warriors took their first lead of the game, 35-34, with 19:01 left. A 12-3 run, capped by a Jeremy Harrell long-range bomb, put the Bears back on top, 46-38, with 16:55 to go.
 
With the Bears on top 54-49, the Warriors scored seven of the next nine points to tie even things at 56-56 with 10:34 still to play.
 
The teams would trade baskets for the next several minutes, with neither leading by more than five points, before the Bears held a 79-77 lead with 0:22 on the clock.
 
The Warriors would then stave off defeat, temporarily, by hitting a pair of late free throws to force the teams into extra play, tied at 79-79.
 
The Bears quickly took over in overtime with a Cowart, Jr., three pointer starting a 10-2 run that left them on top 89-81 with 0:53 left.
 
The Warriors would pull to within 90-86 with 0:29 on the clock, but a pair of Smith free throws would help seal the deal and help the Bears to the four-point win.
 
"I thought, from start to finish they played harder than they have all year," Gray said of his squad. "Obviously, I think a little bit had to do with what East Central did to us when we went to Decatur right before the Christmas break (the Warriors defeated the Bears by 26 points in that meeting). They really got us good and I thought our guys responded."
 
Knight III led the Bears, and all scorers, with 23 points in the game. Harrell finished the game with 21 points. Brown and Cowart, Jr., both turned in double-doubles; Brown scored 16 points and pulled down 13 rebounds while Cowart, Jr., also scored 16 points and had 10 rebounds. The Bears went 26-43 at the free throw line.
 
Thurston McCarty scored 20 points to pace the Warriors. The visitors hit 17 of 23 free throws.
 
The Bears visit Pearl River for their next game, traveling to Poplarville Monday night for a scheduled 7:30 South Division contest.
 
 
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Jeremy Harrell

#1 Jeremy Harrell

F/C
6' 7"
Sophomore
Howard Smith

#5 Howard Smith

G/F
6' 4"
Redshirt Freshman
John Knight III

#3 John Knight III

G
6' 2"
Freshman
Antonio Cowart, Jr.

#4 Antonio Cowart, Jr.

G
6' 2"
Sophomore
Roydell Brown

#22 Roydell Brown

G
6' 5"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Jeremy Harrell

#1 Jeremy Harrell

6' 7"
Sophomore
F/C
Howard Smith

#5 Howard Smith

6' 4"
Redshirt Freshman
G/F
John Knight III

#3 John Knight III

6' 2"
Freshman
G
Antonio Cowart, Jr.

#4 Antonio Cowart, Jr.

6' 2"
Sophomore
G
Roydell Brown

#22 Roydell Brown

6' 5"
Sophomore
G