For the first 30:00 of play in Thursday's conference opener against Mississippi Gulf Coast, the Bears played a very efficient brand of football and held a 23-21 lead over the No. 5 Bulldogs. Then came the second half and the Bears unfortunately couldn't find any of the same magic it had in the first as the Bulldogs grabbed the lead back and pulled away, handing Southwest a 55-33 loss.
 
"We played a pretty good first half," Southwest head coach Cliff Collins said. "In the second half, it didn't carry on. They scored 20 points in the third quarter to our three and that was (essentially) the game right there in a 22-point loss."
 
Bitten by the injury bug to some key offensive starters, the Bears (1-2, 0-1) gave the keys to Amarien Jefferson to run the offense, Thursday, and Collins was impressed with how his young quarterback looked.
 
"Amarien Jefferson, we saw it in practice, he wasn't worried," Collins said. "He played a heck of a game and didn't have any interceptions. He made some plays with his legs. He is a winner. I'm glad to have him and I'm glad that we did a good job recruiting him."
 
Jefferson finished 15-of-35 for 260 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in his first collegiate start. He was also the leading rusher with 52 yards on 10 carries.
 
The Bulldogs put up the first points, taking the opening drive down the field before getting a short touchdown run and a successful PAT pulling the Bears down 7-0.
 
But Southwest answered right back with a four-play, 75-yard drive that culminated with a 72-yard touchdown pass from Jefferson to Damarcco Blanton for 72 yards and with the Lyndell Boatman PAT, the score was tied at 7.
 
It wasn't long before the Bear defense stepped up as on the ensuing drive Ethan Williams stepped in front of an Eli Anderson pass for the interception returning it to the Gulf Coast 25-yard line. Four plays later, Southwest grabs its first lead at 10-7 following a Boatman 38-yd field goal with 9:35 to go in the first quarter.
 
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Williams again picked off Anderson again and returned the ball to the Bulldog 16, once again setting the Bears up with great field position. And the offense took advantage of the gift given by the defense as the Bears drove down to the 1-yard line before Keeghan Rodgers plowed into the end zone. Boatman connected on the PAT, making it a 17-7 game just under eight minutes into the contest.
 
After getting the ball back on a turnover on downs, Southwest added to its lead with another Boatman field goal, this time from 28 yards out pushing the hosts' lead to 20-7.
 
Gulf Coast tried to inch closer early in the second quarter, but a missed a field goal kept the Bear lead at 13.
 
The visitors, however, did pull closer on their next drive with a short touchdown run making it a 20-14 game.
 
Southwest's offense got into rhythm as Jefferson led the Bears down the field, completing a pass to Ty Moore before a big 42-yard completion to La'Jarion Martin moved the ball down into the red zone. Rodgers followed up with a 14-yard run down inside the 5 but a fumble on the ensuing play squashed the momentum as the Bulldogs pounced on the loose ball.
 
On the very next play, the Bears turned the tables as James Kate III forced a fumble which was recovered by fellow sophomore defensive lineman Jaden Hamlin setting the Bears up once again with a golden opportunity.
 
Despite the opportunity, the offense couldn't punch it in and had to settle for a Boatman 20-yard field goal giving Southwest a 23-14 advantage with 4:44 to go until the half.
 
Gulf Coast scored on a touchdown pass with just under 3:00 to go in the second quarter and the PAT reduced the hosts' lead to just two at 23-21.
 
Coming out in the third quarter, leading by the same margin, the Bears looked to get right back into rhythm. But a quick 3-and-out gave the ball back to the Bulldogs who took the lead back at 28-23 following a rushing touchdown.
 
Once again driving down into the red zone, Southwest was unable to punch it into the end zone and relied upon their freshman kicker in Boatman who delivered again, this time from 24 yards out pulling Southwest within two at 28-26.
 
For the next four Gulf Coast drives, the Southwest defense struggled to slow down the Bulldogs as they recorded touchdowns during each possession before Southwest answered with a 21-yard scoring pass from Jefferson to Tavaris Henshaw making the score the eventual final. Henshaw finished the night with four catches for 48 yards and a touchdown. Martin also had four receptions for 55 yards.
 
Even though the Bears came up on the losing end, Collins was pleased with what he saw from his team and the way that they competed against a highly-ranked squad.
 
"Despite the outcome and the score, it felt like a win for us and we just have to build off of it," he said.
 
Tyrese Martin led the Bear defense with seven tackles, one of which for a loss. In addition to Williams' two interceptions he also had five tackles.
 
The Bears will be back on the road for their next contest as they make the short drive to Wesson on Thursday to face Co-Lin at 6:30 p.m.