ELLISVILLE — Last week was a rough one for the Bears following three heart-breaking losses. However, it was a different scene Monday night as they erased a late eight-point deficit to pull out an 81-78 win over Jones.
 
"This one on the road feels nice," Southwest head coach Corey Schmidt said. "I just love our guys' grit and toughness. (Entering Monday) we were 1-7 on the road (and) this team was 18-3 at home. It was their first conference loss and they were on a 10-game win streak. We got down by eight late in the game and we could have easily deflated there and we stayed locked in and stayed focus."
 
Tylik Weeks had a huge game for the Bears (11-9, 2-3) with 26 points and 13 rebounds. "I had to be aggressive," he said. "I was playing the 5 and I realized that I had a mismatch the whole game. I was trying to be aggressive and attack the rim."
 
Early on, it was Weeks who helped set the tone scoring the first six Southwest points. Mark Drone joined the fray not long afterward, as did Jahshawne Joseph as the Bears increased their lead to 15-4 nearly 5:00 into the contest.
 
Over the next 5:00 of play, the Bobcats found their rhythm and answered back, cutting the Bear lead down to 3 with 11:00 to go in the first half.
 
Despite Southwest continuing to find success, Jones hung around and stayed within striking distance. The Bears took a 37-33 lead at the half.
 
In the early stages of the second half, the Bobcats got into rhythm and pulled even at 37 with 18:20 to go. Southwest quickly took the lead back and held on to it for several minutes thanks to 3-pointers from LeVionne Lindsey, Deon Brown and Drone. Following another 3-pointer from Brown, Jones rallied once again before take the lead.
 
This time it was Southwest who kept pace despite the momentum being on the home side.
 
With about 3:00 to go Jones pulled away and put the Bears behind by eight. Down but not out, Southwest put together a rally itself to pull within one with 1:20 to go before a layup by Weeks pushed Southwest ahead 77-76.
 
The Bobcats jumped back on top but a big tip in by Joseph with 34 seconds to go made it a 79-78 game in favor of the visitors.
 
With :06 to go and clinging to a one-point advantage, TJ Wiley connected on two big free throws before the Bear defense put together one last stop to preserve the win.
 
"I'll do whatever it takes to help my team," Wiley said. "That is my main thing, I just want to win. It was a big win on the road against a top team and whatever it takes to win…that is what I want to do."
 
In addition to Weeks' big night, the Bears also got double-digit scoring from Drone who dropped 14 points, Joseph who posted 13 and 9 rebounds and Lindsey who tallied 10.
 
The Bears return home Thursday to play host to Mississippi Delta at 7:30 p.m.