UTICA — Succeeding on the road has been a big of a struggle for the Bears this season. However that was not the case Monday as they banded together late and held off a late push from Hinds, topping the Bulldogs 72-66.
 
After the game, Bear head coach Corey Schmidt said that the biggest difference from this week's road game compared to last week's was all about how his team responded to a comeback attempt by their opponent.
 
"When they went on a run in the second half, after we had built a double-digit lead, we responded," he said. "We settled in and kept our composure and didn't let it stretch turn into a bigger run."
 
The Bears (15-11, 6-5 MACCC) got off to a strong start as through the first 5:00 of play, the Bear defense kept the Bulldog offense grounded, allowing only three points.
 
Hinds was able to reduce the Southwest lead to as little as two but the Bears went on a 7-0 run capped by a Jahshawne Joseph 3-pointer at the 11:15 mark to create more distance.
 
Despite the Bulldogs battling back right afterward, the Bears never relinquished the lead in the first half. Southwest led 33-26 at the break.
 
Early in the second half, the Bears watched their lead slowly shrink to as little as three but yet another scoring run consisting of makes from Joseph, Deon Brown and Tylik Weeks pushed Southwest away again.
 
But right afterward, the Bears went cold while the Bulldogs got into a groove. Southwest found itself on the short end of a 10-0 run which put the Bears down for the first time in the game at 44-43 with 11:25 to go.
 
Southwest immediately regained its composure and recaptured the lead, one that it would not give up for the remainder of the contest.
 
As the second half clock continued to tick down, the Bears continued to fight off the Bulldogs who kept pace and narrowed the lead down to as little as 1 with about 5:00 to go.
 
Weeks immediately put a stop to this with a successful three-point play. Down the stretch, free throws were key for Southwest as the Bears connected on 11-of-13 in the final 3:00 of the game to help preserve the win.
 
Most of those made free throws came from Joseph who led the Bears with 19 points. Afterward he said that even though they did not have the size advantage against the Bulldogs, the Bears post players had to be more aggressive.
 
"Me, Tylik Weeks, Daylen (Thomas), Corey (Lombard), we were just playing physical and that is our game, we play inside out and we have success that way," he said.
 
Weeks had 16 points while Brown tallied 15, all of which came from beyond the 3-point arch.
 
Southwest will be back in action on Thursday playing host to Itawamba at 7:30 p.m.