BOGUE CHITTO – Rough and tumble basketball was the name of thegame Friday night in Calhoun Gymnasium as old rivals West Lincolnand Bogue Chitto did battle in key Division 7-1A matchups. WestLincoln stayed perfect in the division by edging the Bobcats 66-63while the Bogue Chitto girls kept pace with a 61-49 victory overthe Lady Bears.

West Lincoln 66, Bogue Chitto 63

Jamie Sisco scored a game-high 25 points, including 19-of-22from the free throw line, to pace the Bears to victory.

West Lincoln (18-5, 10-0) opened up a 14-8 first quarter lead,but Bogue Chitto battled back to take a 47-42 advantage at the endof the third quarter on a three-pointer and basket by CarlosBrown.

“We played hard and I was very satisfied,” said Bobcat headcoach Theo Black. “We still need to improve on mental mistakes thatseem to pop up for us down the stretch. Our free throw shooting inthe fourth quarter (6-of-17) was the dagger that did us in.”

The Bears fought back to take a 64-62 lead in the foul-plaguedaffair on a pair of free throws by Sisco with 56 secondsremaining.

Bogue Chitto (7-17, 4-6) cut the lead to one with 51 secondsremaining as Denard Ferguson hit 1-of-2 from the line.

Sisco then hit a pair of free throws with 21 seconds left togive West Lincoln a three-point lead. The Bobcats had a chanceafter that but Ferguson missed two free throws. Dorian Dunn andDomenick Addison missed short jumpers as time expired.

“We gave it everything we had,” said Black. “Give West Lincolncredit. They didn’t lose their composure and came out on top.”

The teams combined for 68 fouls and 90 free throw attempts. TheBears hit 39-of-50 (78 percent), and Bogue Chitto managed 50percent (20-of-40).

Adam Rushing scored 13 points and Kalis Fells added 11 (11-of-12from the free throw line) for West Lincoln. Carlos Johnson pulleddown 13 rebounds and Luke Lofton grabbed 11 for the Bears.

Brown led Bogue Chitto with 14 points. Marc Howard and DenardFerguson each scored 12 for the Bobcats. Howard also had eightrebounds.

Bogue Chitto 61, West Lincoln 49

The Lady Bobcats were only 13-of-30 from the free throw line athalftime, but 8-of-10 down the stretch en route to the win.

“We’ve been in a slump lately,” said Bogue Chitto head coachMickey Myers, whose squad had lost six of the last eight. “This wasa typical West Lincoln-Bogue Chitto game. Both teams play with alot of emotion, and it can get physical.”

Bogue Chitto (16-8, 8-2) led 32-23 in the third quarter beforethe Lady Bears went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 32-30. The LadyBobcats eventually extended the lead to 51-43 in the fourthquarter. West Lincoln came back to cut the lead to 53-49 with 39seconds remaining on a trey by Dana King. That’s when JessicaMelton, Kristen Hatten and Randi Moak combined to hit 6-of-6 freethrows to seal the win.

“We could’ve made it simpler if we could hit our free throws,”said Myers. “West Lincoln has a good ball club. They’re young andtalented.”

The girls game resembled that of the boys with 52 foulscommitted. Bogue Chitto hit 22-of-49 from the line (45 percent)while West Lincoln was 17-of-24 (71 percent).

Melton led the Lady Bobcats with 22 points. She was 6-of-8 fromthe line, and hit two 3-pointers. Moak scored 14 points with two3-pointers.

Center Hannah Payne led West Lincoln with 16 points and 14rebounds. King pumped in 13 points and dished out seven assists.Chastity Avants had six steals.

In JV action, the West Lincoln girls downed Bogue Chitto44-29. Lauren Smith led the Lady Bears with 17 points and Kala Shawadded 12. Kia Porter tallied eight points for BogueChitto.

The Bogue Chitto boys slipped by West Lincoln 41-28 inJV play. Cody Wallace and Luke Hale led the Bobcats with nine andeight points respectively. Brooks Smith led West Lincoln with ninepoints.

Both Lincoln County teams return to division actionTuesday night with West Lincoln traveling to Madison to take onJackson St. Joe, and Bogue Chitto hosting Salem.

@Bbstandings:GIRLS

Bogue Chitto 61, West Lincoln 49

West Lincoln (49) Hannah Payne 16, King 13, Roberts 9, Avants6

Franklin 3, Bass 2.

Bogue Chitto (61) Jessica Melton 22, Moak 14, McGary 7, Ratcliff6,

Hatten 5, Drummond 4, Porter 3.

Total Fouls: West Lincoln 31. Bogue Chitto 21. Fouled Out -Payne, Bass,

King. Technicals – None.

Free Throws M-A: West Lincoln 17-24. Bogue Chitto 22-49.

3-point goals: Roberts 3, Moak 2, Melton 2, King, Porter.

West Lincoln 12 11 10 16 – 49

Bogue Chitto 12 20 9 20 – 61

BOYS

West Lincoln 66, Bogue Chitto 63

West Lincoln (66) Jamie Sisco 25, Rushing 13, Fells 11, Johnson9,

Lofton 7, Collins 1.

Bogue Chitto (63) Carlos Brown 14, Howard 12, Ferguson 12, Black8,

Dunn 6, Addison 4, Blackwell 3, Smith 2, Hale 2.

Total Fouls: West Lincoln 31. Bogue Chitto 37 . Fouled Out -Lofton,

Fells, Collins. Technicals – None.

Free Throws: West Lincoln 39-50. Bogue Chitto 20-40.

3-point goals: Howard 2, Dunn, Lofton.

West Lincoln 14 19 9 24 – 66

Bogue Chitto 8 21 18 16 – 63