Tuesday March 30,2021

Men's Basketball: Wesson, MS

The Bears opened the post-season tonight in Wesson, Mississippi versus the Co-Lin Wolves, in a Region 23 play in game. Even though the Bears were shorthanded due to Covid-19 protocols, the Bears Elite 8 did their thing and defeated the Wolves 75 to 59 to advance in the tournament. It was a total team win tonight for the Bears.

The Bears opened the game with two quick threes by Jayhlon Young to take a quick 6 to 0 lead. The Wolves would respond and tie the game at 6 with 16:10, in the first half.  The Bears would retake the lead with another three pointers by Jayhlon Young. The Bears would not relinquish this lead. It was a back-and-forth game for the next six minutes.  The Bears would grow their lead to 11 with 5 minutes left. The Wolves would not go away and they would close within five points at the half. At the half, the Bears led 36 to 31.

In the second half, the Bears Elite 8 continued to fight and play hard every possession. The Bears played solid defense limiting the Wolves'-offensive possessions. Baton Rouge was active on the defensive ends, forcing numerous Wolves turnovers that  led to transition buckets. They were also active on the boards pulling in 51 rebounds for the game. The trio of Jayhlon Young, Julius Ellerbe III and Jordan Randall paced the  Bears, in the second half, on the offensive end of the floor.  The Bears would increase their lead to 13 with eight minutes to go. They would continue their defensive pressure which kept the Co-Lin wolves out of sync all game.  As the Bears started the game strong, they would finish strong on their way to a 75 to 59 victory.

The Bears were led in scoring by Jayhlon Young with 21 points.

Bears Game Highlights:

Jayhlon Young led all Bears with 24 points, including 6 three pointers.

Julius Ellerbe III scored 20 points.

Jordan Randall added 17 points. 

Dewey Shannon scored 8 points.

With the victory the Bears improve to 7-8 while the Co-Lin Wolves finishes the season with a 3-10 record.

Next up for the Bears is a trip to Booneville, Mississippi on Thursday April 1 to take on the #2 seed Northeast Tigers at 6 pm.