At a time when the Bears needed a boost from a player, in stepped Jaylen Haliburton. The freshman from Brookhaven had easily his best game as a Bear thus far, scoring a career-high 27 points including 24 in the second half as Southwest topped Mississippi Delta at home, Thursday in non-conference action. The win marked the fourth-consecutive for the Bears.
"I missed my first shot and I thought that I was going to be off in this game, but my coach said when you get those open shots, let them fly, and I did and they went in," said Haliburton.
While Haliburton stole the show for the Bears (6-4) it was fellow freshman guard Fazl Oshodi who got things going for the Bears scoring two consecutive 3-pointers helping the Bears take a 6-0 lead. That lead expanded to 13-4 not long afterward following a 3-pointer from LeVionne Lindsey who kept the momentum going for Southwest.
But over the next several minutes the Bears lost their edge as the Trojans began battling back and inching closer. Southwest watched its lead disappear as Delta pulled even at 27 with about 6:00 to go in the first half.
Even though the Bears jumped back on top, the Trojans finished the half strong and put the Bears down 37-36 at the half.
Early in the second half, the deficit grew to as much as six at 46-40 but Southwest began to get into rhythm. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Haliburton and Josh Schonback quickly erased the deficit before Daylen Thomas, who was starting in just his second game of the season, scored on two-consecutive possessions giving the Bears their first lead since the 1:00 mark of the first half.
After regaining the lead, Southwest got a big boost from Haliburton who scored the next 11 points as the Bears began to pull away.
Additional 3-pointers from Schonback and Haliburton helped Southwest spread the floor as the two freshmen locked down the outside game while sophomore Tylik Weeks scored from the inside.
Down the stretch, the combination of Haliburton and Weeks helped lead the charge as the Bears sealed the win.
After the game, Southwest head coach Corey Schmidt praised his offense, especially Haliburton, but said that he was very pleased with how his defense responded in the second half after being down in the first.
"I thought that we were a little passive, a little on our heels in the first half," he said. "In the second half, we picked up the aggressiveness and that changed the game. I'm really proud of the defensive effort in the second half."
In addition to Haliburton's big night, Weeks, Schonback and Lindsey also had strong outings with 15, 13 and 11 points, respectively.
The Bears return to action on Saturday at 5 p.m. as they visit Pensacola State.
