Men's Basketball | 2/6/2018 12:35:00 AM
The Bears found the road was a tough place to be Monday night as they were defeated 72-57 by Pearl River in MACJC South Division play in Poplarville.
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With the loss, the Bears fell to 13-5 overall and 4-5 in the South. Pearl River climbed to 15-2, 7-2.
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Pearl River took an early 2-0 lead. The Bears then scored the next six points, taking a 6-2 lead on a Roydell Brown jumper with 18:05 left in the first half.
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Unfortunately for the Bears, Pearl River would then go on a 23-5 run and take a 25-11 lead with 11:19 still to play in the half. Then, with 8:47 on the clock, the hosts took their biggest lead of the half, 30-13.
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Antonio Cowart, Jr.., and Jeremy Harrell combined to score six straight points for the Bears to pull them to within 30-19 with 7:18 before the half. The teams would trade baskets the remainder of the half before going into intermission with Pearl River on top 41-29.
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A pair of Harrell buckets trimmed the Bears' deficit to 41-33 with 18:12 left in the game. But, Pearl River quickly scored six straight to push out to a 47-33 advantage with 16:20 to play.
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With 9:07 on the clock, a Brown three-point play allowed the Bears to pull to within 10 points, 57-47. That, unfortunately, would be as close as the Bears would get the rest of the night. After an 11-2 run allowed Pearl River to take its largest lead of the game, 68-49, with 4:57 to play, the Bears could come no closer than 14 points.
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"Tonight was a game where I felt we could never really get in a rhythm offensively," said Bears head coach Thomas Gray. "I thought our shot selection could have been a little better. Also, defensively, we didn't have the attention to detail that you have to play in order to beat a tough team on the road. We will take this loss as an opportunity to improve as a team."
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Cowart, Jr., had 13 points and 10 rebounds, his fifth double-double of the year, to lead the Bears. Brown also had a double-double, his eighth of the season, with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Harrell also netted 10 points. The Bears hit 14 of 25 free throws.
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Pearl River's Eric Thornton led all scorers with 17 points. He and his teammates were 14-22 at the free throw line.
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The Bears return home for their next game, hosting the Meridian Eagles Thursday night. The South Division matchup is scheduled for a 7:15 start.
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