Last second shot sinks Wolves

Like most rivalry games, last night's Southwest-Co-Lin game came down to the wire. With the clock winding down and the game tied at 71-all, Southwest guard Tada Stricklen nailed a three-pointer with 4.1 seconds remaining to give the Bears a 74-71 lead over the Co-Lin Wolves. Co-Lin head coach Kenny Bizot immediately called time out to huddle with his players. Co-Lin in bounded the ball getting it to guard Dee Merriweather, who launched a trey that was blocked giving the Bears the win.

 The Wolves return to action on Thursday, Jan. 28, at 6 p.m. when they travel to Utica to take on the Hinds Bulldogs.

Co-Lin looked to be cruising in the first half as they went on a 15-3 run giving them a 19-9 with 13:32 left in the first half. The Bears went on a run of their own taking a 27-22 lead with 6:06 remaining in the first half. The teams traded baskets the remainder of the half as the Wolves took a 38-37 advantage into the locker room.

The second half was much like the first with seven ties and nine lead changes. The Bears built a 50-44 with 13:43 to play. Co-Lin went on a 17-9 run to take a
61-59 lead, but a jumper and two free throws from Southwest's Michael Barber gave the Bears a 63-61 lead with 6:53 remaining in the game. The game went back and forth in the final minute. Co-Lin freshman Daniel Smothers hit a short jumper to tie the game at 71-all with 24.8 seconds left.  After a timeout, Southwest ran the clock down until Stricklen launched his three-pointer with 4.1 seconds left.

"This was a tough loss tonight for our team," said Co-Lin head coach Kenny Bizot. "We need to keep our heads up, stay together and keep working and we will continue to improve. We had some guys step up tonight, which was really nice to see." 

Sophomore JD Allen paced the Wolves with 16 points. The Wesson native also grabbed five rebounds and made five steals. TJ Monroe and Smothers chipped in 13 points apiece. Jordan Johnson led the Wolves on the backboards with seven rebounds

For Southwest, Barber had a double-double with 21 points and 17 rebounds. Stricklen netted 18 points while Mazae Blake chipped in 11.