Wolves hold on late to defeat rival Southwest

WESSON – Mullen Gymnasium was louder than ever Monday as anxious fans watched the Co-Lin fend off Southwest in the final minutes to secure a 73-72 victory. The win moves the Wolves to 8-6 on the season and 2-3 in the MACJC South Division while Southwest falls to 10-4 and 4-1. Co-Lin is back in action Thursday, Jan. 26 as the Wolves travel to Meridian to take on the Eagles. Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m. The Wolves are back home Monday, Jan. 30 versus Pearl River beginning at 8 p.m. Watch home games live at colinathletics.com or listen live at WMJU 104.3 FM in Brookhaven. 

The contest was back and forth throughout the night as the lead changed hands 11 times. Co-Lin led by as many as five in the opening half before the Southwest's Emanuel Thompson rallied the team back. The Bears took their largest lead of the game, seven, with just 1:27 remaining in the first half and took a five-point lead into the locker room.

The Wolves opened the second half of play with dominating performances on both ends of the flood. The Wolves strung together an 11-0 run over a five-minute span. The offensive spurt gave Co-Lin a six-point lead with 15:56 remaining.

Co-Lin continued to pull away from the Bears and stretched the lead to a game high 10 points with 2:03 remaining. Late fouls began to hinder the Wolves as the Bears clawed back into contention with successful free throw shooting. The Wolves struggled at the line in the final minutes, but made key rebounds to secure the one-point win.

Freshman forward Darrian Wilson of Brookhaven led the Wolves in scoring with 17 points. Wilson shot 6-for-10 from the field and 4-for-8 from three-point range. Lamarcus Lee added 15 points, while Jonathan "Biscuit" Floyd poured in 11 points. Youry White, Tyrell McArthur, and Lee led the team on the glass with five rebounds each.

Rodrick Sikes led the Bears in the point's column with 28, while Emanuel Thompson added 18.

Co-Lin shot 48 percent (26-for-54) from the field, 40 percent (10-for-25) from three-point range, and 50 percent (11-of-22) from the free throw line. The Wolves brought down 34 rebounds. Southwest shot 41 percent (24-for-58) from the field, 26 percent (6-for-23) from three-point range, and 72 percent (18-for-25) from the foul line. The Bears posted 41 rebounds.