Meridian comes from behind to defeat Co-Lin, 81-73

WESSON, Miss. - Thursday was a tale of two halves for the Copiah-Lincoln Community College Wolves as the Meridian Community College Eagles escaped Mullen Gymnasium with an 81-73 victory. Co-Lin shot 57 percent from the floor in the first half and just 31 percent in the second half, while Meridian shot 42 percent in the first half and 58 percent in the second. the loss drops the Wolves to 6-9 overall and 1-5 in division play and improves the Eagles to 7-8, 2-4. Co-Lin is on the road next Monday, January 27 as the Wolves travel to Ellisville to take on the Jones College Bobcats. Tipoff is set for 7:30 and fans can watch the action at www.colinathletics.com/watch or listen live at www.colinathletics.com/listen or WMJU 104.3 FM in Brookhaven. 

"It's a very disappointing loss, we had a great rhythm in the first half and were playing together, but in the second half it looked like we couldn't catch a basketball or grab any loose rebounds," said Co-Lin head coach Kenny Bizot. "I can live with that, but I feel our determination and energy to try to get a win was not there in the second half. We are going to have to continue to work and find the right combinations and avoid careless turnovers and mistakes."

The Wolves shot the lights out in the first half of the contest as Co-Lin grew a five-point, 22-17, lead midway through the first 20 minutes. The Wolves really began to pull away from the Eagles in the final six minutes of the opening period as Co-Lin began nailing three-pointers. Demarcus Ellzey, JD Allen, and Darius Kent all began to hit deep baskets and quickly blew the lead up to 15, 47-32, with just one minute remaining in the half. Meridian got five points back with their own long ball and a pair of free throws. Co-Lin took a 10-point, 47-37, lead into the half. 

The Eagles came out firing in the second half and cut into the lead quickly before going on a 17-1 run. The offensive burst erased Co-Lin's lead and put the Eagles on top 56-54 with 12:48 remaining in the game. The Wolves battled for the remainder of the game, but Meridian kept Co-Lin at bay with solid shooting down the stretch.

Darius Kent led the Wolves in the scoring column of the bench after dropping 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting. JD Allen was 4-of-11 from three-point range and finished with 15 points. Je'Kevious Williams led the team in rebounds with 11, while Lance Madison's six assists led the Wolves. Alvarez Powell led Meridian with 23 points and nine rebounds. 

The Wolves shot 43 percent (28-of-65) from the floor, 32 percent (9-of-28) from three-point range, and 50 percent (8-of-16) from the free-throw line. The Eagles shot 49 percent (27-of-55) from the floor, 53 percent (10-of-19) from downtown, and 81 percent (17-of-21) from the stripe. Co-Lin outrebounded the Eagles 39 to 35.