Wolves fall to Hinds by three, 69-66

UTICA, Miss. - The Wolves of Copiah-Lincoln Community College had another close contest on Thursday night as the team battled it out with the Hinds Bulldogs. A late, would-be tying, three-point attempt from the Wolves rattled off the rim securing the 69-66 win for Hinds. Co-Lin falls to 7-14, 2-10 on the year and the Bulldogs improve to 12-7, 7-5. The Wolves are back on the road on Monday, February 17 and close out the 2020 campaign with a home matchup with Jones College on Thursday, February 20. Both games start at 7:30 p.m. and fans can watch the action live at www.colinathletics.com/watch. 

The Bulldogs quickly built a nine-point, 12-3, advantage on Thursday night with early baskets in the opening minutes, but the Wolves gathered themselves and sparked a 12-3 run that saw back-to-back three-pointers from JD Allen, several shots from Dajon Whitworth, and second-chance basket from Je'Kevious Williams. The Co-Lin push back tied the game at 15-15 midway through the first half. After trading baskets for several minutes, back-to-back jumpers from Hinds' Dontrell McQuarter put the Bulldogs on top by five, 30-25, late in the half. The Wolves battled for the remainder of the half and trailed by six, 39-33, going into the break.

The second half saw Hinds grow their lead by to nine, 50-41, midway through before Co-Lin began chipping away at the lead. A pair of free-throws from Tyree Lomax and a three-pointer from Darius Kent put the Wolves within striking distance, but three-pointers from Hinds' Deonte Spencer and Peyton Taylor helped keep the Wolves at bay. In the final two minutes of action, Kent rained in a three-pointer to cut the lead to three, 67-64, followed by a second-chance put-back from Williams with just 11 seconds remaining. The shots cut the lead to one, 67-66, but two solid free-throws from Spencer on the other end grew the lead back to three. Allen had a three-pointer to tie the game at the buzzer, but the shot just missed. 

Whitworth led the Wolves in scoring with 16 points off the bench, while Allen finished with 11 points after going 3-for-7 from three-point range. Lance Madison led Co-Lin in rebounds and steals with eight and four respectively. McQuarter led Hinds with 18 points, while Jordan Johnson posted 12. Ladarius Marshall led the Bulldogs on the glass with seven rebounds. 

The Wolves shot 440percent (27-of-67) from the floor, 38 percent (8-of-21) from three-point range, and 67 percent (4-of-6) from the free-throw line. The Bulldogs shot 49 percent (27-of-55) from the floor, 39 percent (5-of-13) from downtown, and 77 percent (10-of-13) from the stripe. Co-Lin outrebounded the Bulldogs 39 to 31.