WESSON – In a hard-fought, physicalcontest, at times resembling a football game, West Lincoln guardJared Case took control. Case picked himself off the floor andpumped in 34 points Friday night, directing the Bears to a 74-55victory against Wesson’s Cobras in the Snake Pit.

    In the varsity girls game, Wesson overwhelmed West Lincoln with itsaggressive defense and coasted to a 57-33, directed by seniorforward Dylann Harris who scored 16 points.

    Both schools begin playoff action next week in regionaltournaments. West Lincoln is at Natchez Cathedral for Region 7-1Aand Wesson plays at Enterprise-Lincoln for Region 7-2A. The No.3-seeded Lady Bears play Cathedral Tuesday night at 7, while theNo. 2-seeded Bears await the winner of the St. Aloysius-Hinds AHSgame Thursday night at 8:30.

    Both Wesson teams are seeded No. 2 at Enterprise and play Thursdaynight. The Lady Cobras await the winner of Tuesday’s EastMarion-Amite County game at 7 p.m. and the Cobras play the winnerof the Enterprise-Amite County game at 8:30.

    The Bears (22-4) encountered an intense Wesson team on anunseasonably warm night. They took a 19-15, first-quarter lead andwere up 41-29 at halftime.

    Case scored 21 first-half points. He also had 6 steals and 4assists in the game.

    Freshman guard Duane Marshall joined Case in double digits with 12points. Sam Bivens had 9 rebounds  and Darius Clark 7.

    “It was physical the whole game,” said West Lincoln coach LaneYoung, a 1994 Wesson graduate who coached the Lady Cobras for twoyears early in his career. “Both teams were fouling. Jared was ableto beat his man on the dribble.”

    West Lincoln forward Lucas Burris started the game with a 1-handedslam dunk off a pass from Case. Burris was in early foul troubleand picked up his fourth personal with 42 seconds left in the thirdquarter and the Bears leading 56-40.

    In the second quarter, referee Lawrence Pillars halted the game andwarned Burris and Wesson’s J.J. Sutton about their aggressiveactions.

    “It was a pretty rough game and I was proud of my guys,” saidWesson coach Rusty Newman., “West Lincoln has a good team and Casescorched us tonight.”

    Newman was minus guard Kaleb Skinner due to a high ankle sprain.Guard Eddie McCullum missed the game because of strep throat.

    The Cobras (19-8) got 14 points from junior center Patrick Lumley,their only player in double figures.

    The Lady Cobras (18-10) employed a high-energy defense to dismantleWest Lincoln. Six Wesson players were honored on Senior Night.

    “It was a good game to get ready for the district tournament,” saidWesson coach Rusti Magee, West Lincoln graduate who played forCopiah-Lincoln Community College and Mississippi College beforelaunching her coaching career.

    The Lady Cobras led 38-16 at halftime. Senior center Elsie Millerdominated the backboards and grabbed 11 rebounds.

    West Lincoln got 7 assists and  6 points from senior guard MarisaPruski. Senior Beth Montgomery and junior Tamasha Buckley each had6 rebounds.