Wolves Drop Pair of Contests on Florida Road Trip

NICEVILLE, Fla. – The Co-Lin Men's Basketball team took to the road for their final two games before the winter break facing off against Northwest Florida State on Friday, December 8, and Tallahassee Community College on Saturday, December 9. The Wolves dropped the contest to the No.5 Raiders, 70-54, and then fell to the Eagles, 78-73.

Northwest Florida State 70 Co-Lin 54

The Raiders used a 12-8 scoring run in the opening minutes of the first half to hold a lead at that margin with just under 15 minutes of play remaining. The Raiders then went on an 8-2 scoring run extending their lead to 20-10 with 11 minutes of play left. The Wolves closed out the first half with an 18-13 scoring run but trailed the Raiders, 33-28, as the teams entered the locker rooms at halftime.

The Wolves cut the lead down to one point, 34-33, with a 5-1 scoring run in the opening minute of the second half; however, the Raiders responded with 12 unanswered points over the next few minutes to grow the lead to 46-33 with just under 15 minutes of play remaining in the game. The Wolves responded with a 10-2 scoring run to cut the lead down to 48-43 with close to 11 minutes left. However, the Raiders responded with a 22-11 scoring run to close out the game and secured the 70-54 win.

Devin Carter (Edwards) led the way offensively for the Wolves with 16 points along with one assist, two steals, and one block. Emmanuel James (Nigeria) had nine points along with four rebounds, one assist, and one steal while Ismail Rashid (Jackson) had seven points and led the team in rebounds with nine. Avaughn Johnson (Jackson) and Courterius Scott (Jackson) had five points each while Scott led the team in assists with five.

Dakota Hillard (Hazlehurst) had four points, Antonio Oatis (Hattiesburg) and Will Grayson (Yazoo City) had three points each, and Kaison Saunders (Olive Branch) had two points to close out the scoring for the Wolves.

Tallahassee 78 Co-Lin 73

The Wolves and Eagles battled throughout the first half, but ultimately the Wolves held the lead at 43-41 as the teams entered the locker rooms at halftime. The Eagles then had a dominant second half as they erased the two-point lead and outscored the Wolves, 37-30, to secure the 78-73 win over the Wolves.

Emmanuel James had a huge game for the Wolves as he led the team in points and rebounds while narrowly missing a 20-20 game with 17 points and 16 rebounds, with the rebounds setting a new career high while also adding two assists, four steals, and one block to his performance. Courterius Scott also found success for the Wolves offense as he had 16 points and once again led the team in assists with eight along with one rebound and one steal. Avaughn Johnson added 12 points with five rebounds and one assist.

Devin Carter had nine points, Trevon Taylor (Jackson) and Corey Brown (Roxie) had five points each, while Ismail Rashid had four points. Dakota Hillard had three points and Kaison Saunders had two points to round out the scoring for the Wolves.

Co-Lin is now 6-4 on the season and will return to action on the road against Northwest on Thursday, January 11. Tip-off between the Wolves and the Rangers is set for 7:30 p.m., at Howard Coliseum in Senatobia.