Saturday February 26, 2022: Men's Basketball

Baton Rouge, LA

It was win or go home for the Baton Rouge Bears tonight, in the Bonne Sante Wellness Center, as they opened Region XXIII tournament play against the Mississippi Delta Trojans.

These two ball clubs had met early this season with the Bears defeating the Trojans 79-58 but tonight started a new season, its playoff time and everyone starts with a 0-0 record. The Bears would use a second half surge to defeat the Trojans 77-61 to advance to the second round of the Region XXIII tournament.

For the most part, the first half, of tonight's tournament game was an evenly matched game between the two ball clubs. The Bears would grow their lead to seven points; with 12:52 remaining with great ball movement on the offensive end and increased defensive pressure forcing multiple Trojan's turnovers. The Trojans would go on a 12-4 mini run to take a one-point lead:22-21 with 7:20 remaining. The game would go back and forth for the last seven minutes with the Bears taking a 39-34 lead into the half.

In the second half the game would be a back-and-forth affair for the first 6 minutes with the game seeing 2 ties and 2 lead changes.  The game would be tied at 43 with 14:24 remaining.  The Bears would lock down on the defensive end and find their stride on the offensive end to grow their lead to 14 with 8:06 to play;63-49.  The Bears limited the Trojans second chance opportunities and kept the Trojans out of sync on the offensive end of the floor for the rest of the game.  The Bears got outstanding ball movement and make the extra pass to get everyone involved in the ball game.  The Bears would dominate the second half outscoring the Trojans 38 to 26 to secure the 77 to 61 First round Region XXIII victory tonight in the Bears Den.

The Bears were led in scoring by Jayhlon Young with a game high 23 points. The Trojans were led in scoring by Morgan Green with 14 points.

Bears Game Highlights:

Jayhlon Young led the Bears with a game high 23 points

JaQualon Lovette added 16 points

Reginald Gause scored 14 points.

With the victory Baton Rouge improves to 10-15, while Mississippi Delta finish their season 3-21.

The Bears will continue in the Region XXIII tournament on Monday February 28 as they travel to Meridian to take on the Meridian Community College Eagles at 6pm in Round Two.

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