After weeks of preparation which included several practices and a few scrimmages, the Bears put it all together Wednesday evening with a complete team effort, shutting down Baton Rouge Post Grad Academy and walking away with a 101-50 win in the season opener.
"I thought that we played a pretty complete game," Southwest head coach Corey Schmidt said. "I am really proud of the guys effort and focus from the start on the defensive end of the floor."
That defensive effort helped set the tone for the Bears (1-0). Southwest kept the BR Post Grad offense in check early on not allowing double-digit points until the 11:07 mark. However, not long afterward, the Southwest offense got into rhythm. A 17-2 run, highlighted by big baskets inside from Corey Lombard and on the perimeter from LeVionne Lindsey pushed the Bear lead to 35-13 with about 6:00 to go in the first half.
"I felt great tonight," said Lindsey who, along with fellow freshman Tylik Weeks, was tied for a team-high in points with 17. "The shots were going in and I had a good game."
Weeks proved to be a force for the Bears in the first half with 5 of his 6 field goals coming in the first 20:00 of play. He got the many Bear fans in the crowd on their feet in with just under a minute to go in the first half following a drive to the basket and a big dunk as he maneuvered through three BRPGA defenders.
Leading 51-22 at the intermission, the Bears kept pouring it on in the second half. A balanced scoring attack helped fuel the hosts as several players contributed. Of those contributors, perhaps none were more impactful than Joe Haze Austin who scored all 14 of his points during that time frame. He kicked off his scoring barrage with a pair of 3-pointers, the first of which coming at the 12:33 mark. That jump-started a 13-0 run with nine of those points coming from Austin. When the dust settled, the Bears enjoyed an 80-29 advantage.
The Bears kept pressing forward, getting makes from Darrius Thames to help lead the charge as Southwest eventually ran out the clock and sealed the win.
Corey Lombard finished with 10 points marking the fourth Bear to finish in double-digits in scoring.
The Bears will get their first road test this weekend as they head to Marianna, FL to play in the Chipola Classic. They will face Pensacola State, Saturday at 5 p.m. and Chipola College Sunday at 3 p.m.
