Hinds defeats Co-Lin after late push

UTICA, Miss. – A late run in a game that saw 14 ties and 10 lead changes secured a 78-66 win for the Hinds Bulldogs in J.D. Boyd Gymnasium on Tuesday over the Copiah-Lincoln Community College Wolves. The loss drops the Wolves to 9-5 on the year and to 2-3 in MACJC South Division play. Hinds improves to 8-6 on the year and to 1-4 in division play. The Wolves face another MACJC South Division foe on Thursday as Co-Lin travels to Meridian to take on the Eagles. Fans can listen to the game live at colinathletics.com or on WMJU 104.3 FM in Brookhaven.

"We couldn't get a rebound and I'm not sure what we shot from three, but I'm sure it was awful…you have to compete every night and we were not ready tonight," said head coach Kenny Bizot. "It just wasn't a good night, but we have to put it behind us and move on to the next game."

Five minutes into the game Cameron Woodall hit a long three-pointer for Co-Lin to tie the game 9-9, a trend that would continue throughout the night as the teams battled it out on both ends of the floor. The three-pointer from Woodall sparked the Wolves' offense as they followed it with five straight points, but just four minutes later the game was tied again, 16-16. The squads continued to go back and forth with the lead changing hands three times in the final two minutes of the first half. Hinds' Dontrell McQuarter hit a free throw with just 0.1 seconds on the clock to take a one point, 35-34, lead into halftime of the tightly contested game.

The second half continued to go back and forth. The Wolves struggled to hit threes on the offensive end of the floor but were capitalizing on Hinds' turnovers to keep the game close. The Bulldogs took advantage of nearly every trip to the free throw line to counter the lack of shots due to turnovers.

With 4:43 left in regulation the game was tied for the final time, 60-60. This was the fourteenth tie of the contest. After a Hinds' three-point play and a layup from Xavier Heidelberg, Hinds led by one, 63-62. The Bulldogs called a timeout and came out of the break firing. A very long three-pointer from Hinds' Anthony Johnson followed by a layup and a pair of free throws put the Bulldogs up 70-62 with 2:02 left in the game. The seven-point swing took the momentum out of Co-Lin's hands and was the turning point of the contest.  The Wolves tried to battle back in the final minutes with a three-pointer from Damarius Brooks, but the Bulldogs hung on to the lead and escaped with a 78-66 victory.

Xavier Heidelberg led Co-Lin with 18 points after shooting 8-of-14 from the floor and in assists with five. Damarius Brooks added 18 points while Cameron Woodall posted 12 points and seven rebounds. Lance Madison led the Wolves on the glass with 10 rebounds.

Dontrell McQuarter led Hinds with 20 points, while Stephane Ayangma posted a double-double after scoring 18 and bringing down 15 rebounds. Malik Henry and Anthony Johnson rounded out the Bulldogs top scorers with 12 and 11 points respectively.

Co-Lin shot 39 percent (26-of-67) from the floor, 33 percent (6-of-18) from three-point range, and 36 percent (8-of-22) from the free throw line. The Bulldogs shot 48 percent (25-of-52) from the floor, 29 percent (4-of-14) from downtown, and 73 percent (24-of-33) from the stripe. Hinds outrebounded Co-Lin 45 to 40, but had 20 turnovers to the Wolves 16.