Despite good play, the past three contests did not end in the favor of the Bears as they lost all three on the road by close margins. However, all of that was squashed Monday as they returned to the friendly confines in Summit and returned to playing their brand of basketball, picking up a 98-75 win over Southern-Shreveport on Day 1 of the 2023 Coca Cola Classic.
"When you are on a three-game losing streak, we didn't shy away from it, we talked about it and we had to find a way to win," Southwest head coach Corey Schmidt said. "I think at the start of the game, the guys were pressing and feeling that, but once they saw the ball go through and they relaxed a little bit, fell into a rhythm and fed off of the energy of the crowd at home, I thought that we played a really good brand of basketball."
Early on, the Bears (2-3) got off to a bit of a slow start. The visiting Jaguars got into a groove offensively and put the Bears down 11-4.
Southwest quickly made the necessary adjustments, and it didn't take long for it to show on the court. While the defensive intensity increased, so did the offense with a balanced attack. An 11-0 run where five different Bears scored including a three-point play from Mark Drone, put the hosts on top at 15-11 with about 13:15 to go in the first half.
Even though the Bears had the upper hand, the Jaguars hung around, even tying the contest at 21 just a few minutes later. But Southwest did not panic and regained its composure thanks in part to baskets from Drone, Jahshawne Joseph and Tylik Weeks, who also used his aggressiveness in the paint on defense to his advantage. After the game, he said that helped on the offensive end.
"Our main focus was to get rebounds and push into transition, I thought that we did that really well," Weeks said.
With about 6:00 to go before halftime, Southern-Shreveport made things interesting once again, pulling within two at 31-29. But two-consecutive 3-pointers from Blake Hart jump-started the Bears once again who rallied to close out the half before going into the locker room with a 49-38 lead.
In the opening stages of the second half, the Bears got back into rhythm and slowly began to pull away. At about the 16:00 mark, technical free throws from Drone were followed up by another pair made by LeVionne Lindsey giving Southwest a 57-44 lead.
As the second half clock continued to wind down, the Bear offense didn't. Drone continued to find ways to score whether it was via field goals, 3-pointers or free throws. Lindsey, Deon Brown, Joseph and Isaiah Morey also connected on long balls as the Bears rode the momentum before claiming the win.
Drone had a team high 24 points while Lindsey posted 16, Weeks 14, Joseph 12 and Hart 11.
The Bears turn right back around and return to competition on Tuesday on Day 2 of the Coca Cola Classic Tuesday as they play host to Bossier Parish CC at 7:30 p.m.
