The emotion that comes with Sophomore Night festivities did not phase the Bears one bit as they kept their emotions in check and got big offensive performances from Tylik Weeks and Mark Drone to pick up a 93-87 win, Thursday, over Mississippi Gulf Coast in the regular season finale.
"We talked about finishing the regular season and having a good mindset going into the game all week," Southwest head coach Corey Schmidt said. "I think that the guys had a really good mindset tonight. We have to keep it rolling Saturday."
Early on, it was the Weeks show for the Bears (17-12, 8-6 MACCC) as the freshman forward scored the first nine Southwest points.
"I feel like I let my team down the last two games and I have been playing badly," said Weeks who had a game-high 34 points. "The more the game kept going on, I just kept seeing the shots that I had. They kept giving me my favorite shot, the mid-range."
After Weeks helped set the tone, Deon Brown joined the fray with a big 3-pointer pushing the Southwest lead to 12-5 at the 15:31 mark.
The Bulldogs eventually went on a run to not only draw closer but also take a slight lead. But Drone began to get into more of a rhythm knocking down a shot with 2:45 to go before contributing with another in the final minute which was part of a 7-0 Southwest run which wrapped with a long 3-pointer at the buzzer from Weeks from just inside the half-court line. The make put Southwest up 42-34 at the half.
Once again, Weeks got off to a very strong start in a half as he posted the first eight Southwest points of the second. Afterward, it was Drone's turn as he contributed with a field goal, two free throws and a 3-pointer before TJ Wiley got into the action with a long-ball of his own at the 13:05 mark putting the Bears up 60-49.
Field goals from LeVionne Lindsey, Drone and Daylen Thomas were complemented by 3-pointers from Weeks and Isaiah Morey helping keep the Bears ahead of the Bulldogs.
The lead grew to as many as 13 with 2:54 to go following another 3-pointer from Morey. Down the stretch, Weeks, Drone and Jahshawne Joseph all kept the scoring going as Southwest ran out the clock and sealed the win.
In addition to Weeks' big night, Drone also had a huge performance with 28 points.
After the game, Coach Schmidt shined light on his eight sophomores who were honored during a ceremony earlier in the evening adding that they were part of his first recruiting class since he took over as head coach two years ago.
"Tyler Shannon is the epitome of what we want in this program," Schmidt said. "He may not have played a ton but he shows up every day and does what we want him to do on and off the court. Darrius Thames is one of the hardest workers on the team. He brings it every day. Then you have Isaiah Morey who has embraced being a defensive stopper, a defensive specialist. Blake Hart has been battling some injuries this year and hasn't shot it as well but is the toughest kid around. I will take 11 Blake Harts if I could. Corey Lombard and Jahshawne Joseph are two captains who anchor this team, anchor our communication, anchor our defense and are leaders. Deon Brown is a big-time shot maker and has made some big shots for us in his career. He has gotten better on the defensive side of the floor as his career has gone on. I can go on for hours about the good things that Mark Drone has done for our program. I am going to miss him when he is gone and I can't wait to see what he does in his career."
Thursday's win helped the Bears further cement themselves in the Region 23 Postseason Tournament with the No. 6 seed and helped secure a first-round home game. Southwest will host No. 11 Meridian on Saturday with a time to be determined later.
