MERIDIAN — The regular season road finale did not end in the favor of the Bears Monday night as they fell behind early and could never fully regroup, finding themselves on the short end of a 94-86 decision to the host Meridian Eagles. 
 
"I just think that we weren't tough enough," Southwest head coach Corey Schmidt said. "I don't think that we were in a good mindset to start the game. It is just frustrating."
 
The Bears (16-12, 7-6 MACCC) lacked the offensive firepower that they usually possess early on. Meridian put Southwest in a 7-point deficit but the Bears eventually rallied with the help of a pair of 3-pointers from Deon Brown and a basket from Tylik Weeks at the 14:52 mark, pulling Southwest within two at 12-10.
 
But the defense once again had difficulty slowing down the Eagle attack as Meridian built a double-digit advantage following a 9-0 run. At the 9:07 mark, a Mark Drone field goal reduced the deficit to just six, before Meridian caught fire once again, increasing it back up to as much as 20 with just over 5:00 to go until half.
 
The Bears trailed 49-32 at the intermission.
 
Down but not out, the Bears began to fight back. Drone got into a groove scoring eight of the Bears first 15 points of the second half. Southwest slowly began to creep back into the contest as makes from LeVionne Lindsey and Daylen Thomas were complemented by free throws from Jahshawne Joseph and a 3-pointer from Blake Hart.
 
A 6-2 run which culminated at the 8:22 mark on a make from Joseph pulled the Bears within five at 70-65. But unfortunately, it was the closest that Southwest got for the remainder of the contest.
 
Despite a valiant effort from the Bears, they Eagles stayed one step ahead, eventually handing the Bears the loss.
 
Mark Drone led the Bears with a new career-high in points with 31. Lindsey posted 17 points while Brown had 14.
 
The Bears will wrap the 2023-24 regular season on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. during Sophomore Night when they play host to Mississippi Gulf Coast.