PERKINSTON — Following what was a back-and-forth battle between Southwest and Gulf Coast for most of Thursday's contest, a late surge by the Bears made the difference in the end as they defeated the Bulldogs 75-67 in the final road game of the regular season.
"That was an awesome game," Southwest head coach Corey Schmidt said. "We've been through a lot this year as a team, we lost a lot of games that we wish we could have had back. I just told my guys that I am super proud of them for not getting discouraged, staying together, continuing to work, continuing to improve. We got so much better tonight. I am just so proud of our guys. Incredible, incredible effort."
Both the Bears (16-12, 7-6 MACCC) and the Bulldogs got things going early on offensively. At the 15:03 mark, Southwest trailed 10-4 but quickly pulled within one following a 3-pointer by Jaylen Haliburton and a basket from Robert Flantroy.
Not long afterward, Tylik Weeks began to get into a groove pacing the Bears who stayed within range. Southwest took the lead at 25-23 at the 7:35 mark but quickly lost momentum, once again trailing by six.
The Bears, however, did not panic and got back to playing their brand of basketball as LeVionnne Lindsey connected on a basket before another 3-pointer from Haliburton. Despite this, Gulf Coast scored five of the final eight points of the quarter as Southwest trailed 36-33 at the half.
Just a couple of minutes into the second half, the Bears fell behind and trailed by seven, its largest deficit of the night. But Southwest got a basket and a three-point play from Weeks to narrow the gap to two at 40-38.
The Bears trailed but stayed within striking range before a 9-0 run, which culminated with a Hami Ndiaye 3-pointer — the first of two on the night for the sophomore forward — gave the visitors a 48-43 lead.
After Gulf Coast tied the game, Josh Schonback connected on a field goal pushing Southwest back on top. It was a lead that the Bears would not give up for the remainder of the game.
Key offensive rebounds, Schonback jumping on a loose ball to maintain possession, big baskets from Haliburton, Weeks and Schonback complemented clutch free throws from Flantroy and Lindsey as the Bears held on in the end to preserve the win.
Following the game, Weeks said that the win was huge as it was a big test.
"I felt like all-around it was a gritty game for the whole team," he said. "We all contributed in our own way."
Weeks led Southwest with 26 points while Lindsey had 15, Ndiaye 10 and Haliburton 9.
The Bears will finish the regular season on Monday at 7:30 p.m., hosting Northwest Mississippi on Sophomore Night.
