Southwest Mississippi Bears Secure First-Round Bye with Win at Meridian

The Southwest Mississippi Bears earned an 81-64 victory over Meridian Community College on Saturday night, locking in a top-four finish and a first-round postseason bye. The game was the Bears’ final road contest of the regular season.

Meridian jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, but Courterius Scott scored the first points for Southwest. The Eagles maintained the lead for most of the first half, going up 19-9 with 12:20 remaining before halftime. The Bears rallied behind clutch baskets from Leano Rolle and Scott, trimming the deficit and heading into the break down 33-31.

Coming out of halftime, Meridian hit a quick three-pointer, but Nwosu and Scott responded with back-to-back baskets, tying the game. The Eagles kept knocking down three-pointers to retake the lead, but Rolle took over for Southwest. He scored seven consecutive points, including a deep three, to help the Bears regain a 45-37 lead with 17:13 remaining.

Scott then pushed the lead further with a basket, and Southwest maintained control for the remainder of the game. A dunk from Cy Merrett put the Bears up by 10 with under 10 minutes to play. In the final four minutes, Rolle scored seven more points, including four free throws and another three-pointer, to seal the victory. Robert Flantroy II added the final points for Southwest.

Rolle led all scorers with 23 points, while Scott finished with 17. Nwosu and Merrett contributed 14 and 11 points, respectively. Scott and Nwosu each drained three three-pointers, and the team totaled 22 assists. Head coach Corey Schmidt praised his team’s resilience and improvement, noting the team’s shooting at 50% from beyond the arc and solid defense after a slow start.

“Frustrating start to the game, with too many turnovers and they were making some shots. Took us a little too long to settle in. But once we did, I thought we played really well. We shared the ball well with 22 assists, shot well at 50% from 3, and defended well after the first five minutes,” Schmidt said. “Rolle really figured some stuff out tonight, attacking the basket and playing under control a lot more consistently. Then still going 2-4 from 3 while getting a block and 2 steals on the other end. That’s the player we need him to be.”

The Bears, now 15-14 overall and 9-4 in conference play, will conclude the regular season at home against Jones Community College on Monday, March 2.

Source: Original Article