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Southwest Mississippi Community College

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Short-handed Bears take down East Mississippi, 90-83, in OT

By: Michael D. Gunnell, Southwest Sports Information
Querrion Gadson
Chuck Barnes
File Photo

Men's Basketball | 2/6/2021 7:47:00 PM

The Bears continued their early-season trend of keeping things close to the end Saturday afternoon as they had to go to overtime to pick up a 90-83 win over the ever-tough East Mississippi Lions, the number two team in the MACCC North.
 
The win came without three of the team's top players-Tada Stricklen, Xyshan Jenkins and last week's MACCC Player of the Week, Michael Barber.
 
The first half was tight in the early going, with four ties and a lead change within the first 10:00 of play. However, a 12-2 East Mississippi run put the Bears in a 36-26 hole and the hosts went on to take a 40-33 advantage into the locker room at intermission.
 
Although the Bears pulled to within a point three times in the first 17:00 of the second half, East Mississippi (3-2) maintained the through most of the way.
 
The Bears (4-1) then caught fire late and, with a pair of Malik Lamin free throws and a Mazae Blake layup serving as bookends, went on a 9-0 to take a 72-65 lead with under 3:00 left in regulation. East Mississippi then went on a run of their own 12-5, to knot the score at 77-77 and force the extra play.
 
East Mississippi led 83-81 with 3:05 left in overtime. Blake then went on a tear for the Bears, scoring the final nine points of the extra period to give the Bears the seven-point victory.
 
Bears head coach Bryan Bender said "It was a huge win for our program. We played our butts off, persevered through adversity and showed resilience without (Barber, Stricklen and Jenkins)."
 
Blake scored 25 points, 23 in the second half, to lead both teams. Javius Moore picked up 16 points. Querrion Gadson finished with a triple-double, scoring 14 points and pulling down 11 rebounds while dishing out 10 assists. Lamin finished with 13 points. The Bears made 23 of 37 free throws.
 
Blake Butler topped the East Mississippi offense with 22 points. He and his teammates made good on 14 of 23 free throws.
 
The Bears return home for their next contest as they host Mississippi Gulf Coast on February 8. Tipoff is set for 6:00.
 
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Querrion Gadson

#10 Querrion Gadson

G
6' 1"
Sophomore
Xyshan Jenkins

#21 Xyshan Jenkins

G/F
6' 7"
Sophomore
Tada Stricklen

#4 Tada Stricklen

G
6' 0"
Redshirt Sophomore
Javius Moore

#1 Javius Moore

G/F
6' 7"
Freshman
Zae Blake

#5 Zae Blake

G
6' 1"
Freshman
Michael Barber

#13 Michael Barber

F/C
6' 8"
Redshirt Sophomore
Malik Lamin

#22 Malik Lamin

F/C
6' 10"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Querrion Gadson

#10 Querrion Gadson

6' 1"
Sophomore
G
Xyshan Jenkins

#21 Xyshan Jenkins

6' 7"
Sophomore
G/F
Tada Stricklen

#4 Tada Stricklen

6' 0"
Redshirt Sophomore
G
Javius Moore

#1 Javius Moore

6' 7"
Freshman
G/F
Zae Blake

#5 Zae Blake

6' 1"
Freshman
G
Michael Barber

#13 Michael Barber

6' 8"
Redshirt Sophomore
F/C
Malik Lamin

#22 Malik Lamin

6' 10"
Freshman
F/C