The Bears knew that they had a tough task in Monday night's home contest against Lee College as the Navigators boasted length and athleticism. And even though the Bears rose to the occasion and went toe-to-toe with the visitors, they could not pull it out in the end, falling 62-60.

"Obviously, I'm disappointed. We were up by five late in the game and we have to figure out a way to close out a game," Southwest head coach Corey Schmidt said. "I didn't think that our focus and execution on either end of the floor was good enough down the stretch. They are a really, talented team, a big team, probably the biggest team we will play all season."

The back-and-forth battle between the Bears (2-3) and the Navigators began early. A LeVionne Lindsey 3-pointer a little more than 3:00 into the contest made the score 5-2 and it also marked the largest lead Southwest held in the first half.

Even though Lee battled back and took a three-point lead following three-consecutive makes, the Bears hung around and jumped back on top following a pair of free throws from Tylik Weeks and a basket from Hami Ndiaye.

About halfway through the first half, the Navigators jumped ahead by five at 18-13 marking their largest lead they held in the opening 20:00 of play. They matched that total two more times in the half.

With under a minute to go until halftime, the Bears pulled within one at 25-24 following a make from Fazl Oshodi.

Trailing 31-26 in the early stages of the second half, the Bears began to mount a comeback. A 7-0 run consisting of a pair of free throws from Oshodi, a make from Ndiaye and a three-point play from Weeks put the Bears ahead 36-34. The surge represented the first of five-consecutive scores by both teams which resulted in lead changes. The fifth and final was a 3-pointer from Lindsey which gave Southwest a
41-39 lead with 11:38 to go.

The largest lead of the second half for the Bears came at the 9:59 mark following a beautiful alley oop from Jaylen Haliburton to Weeks on a fast break. 

Southwest maintained its lead until the 5:37 mark when Lee jumped back ahead. Four more lead changes over the next three and a half minutes of play set the stage for a tight finish.

Both teams were held scoreless over the next 1:25 until the Navigators took a three-point lead following a field goal. Down the stretch, free throws were key as Lee held on in the end.

The Bears were led by Weeks who had 19 points. Ndiaye posted 14 points while Lindsey had 11.

Southwest returns to action on Thursday at 6 p.m. as they host the Coastal Alabama – North Coyotes.