West Lincoln’s Bears tuned up for the Region 7-1A Tournament by trouncing Wesson’s Cobras 72-56 Friday night in Jack Case Gymnasium. Guard Jared Case made the most of the Senior Night celebration, tossing in 20 points.

     In the varsity girls game, Wesson whipped West Lincoln 44-18, powered by guard Brandi McInnis’ 21-point outburst.

     West Lincoln (24-3, 10-0) , seeded No. 1 in the boys bracket, at Hinds AHS in Utica, plays its first game Thursday, against the winner of the St. Aloysius-Natchez Cathedral game. The Lady Bears (9-17, 3-7) play St. Al  Tuesday at 7 p.m.

     Wesson plays this week in the Region 7-2A Tournament at East Marion in Foxworth. The No. 3-seeded Lady Cobras (14-14, 6-4), face archrival Loyd Star Tuesday at 4 p.m. The Cobras (19-9, 8-2) are seeded No. 2 and play the winner of the Enterprise-Amite County game Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the semifinals.

     The Lady Cobras overwhelmed West Lincoln with man-to-man pressure defense. They took a  22-12 halftime lead and were never in trouble.

     “My girls showed up to play tonight,” said Magee, a 1999 West Lincoln graduate and former DAILY LEADER All-Lincoln  County Player of the Year. She later played for Co-Lin and Mississippi College.

     “They played good defense and Brandi had a good game for us,” Magee pointed out. Guard Jashia Smith provided her teams with 10 rebounds and Azaria Smith made 10 steals with her cat-like quickness.

     After the game, the two teams joined hands for a prayer circle at midcourt and recited the Lord’s Prayer. That Christian statement received a loud round of applause from the fans.

     Tamasha Buckley, 1 of 2 seniors on the team,  had 10 rebound for West Lincoln.

     The Bears, with four seniors on the squad, roared to a 42-20 halftime lead over Wesson. They were minus sophomore guard Duane Marshall who was sidelined with a respiratory illness.

     Senior forward Lucas Burris ended his home floor appearance with a 2-handed slam dunk and 3:29 left in the lopsided contest. He had 8 rebounds and 8 points.

     Tamarcus London pumped in 15 points for the Bears. Case dished out 7 assists. Darius Clark had 7 rebounds.

     “All four of our seniors did a good job tonight,” said West Lincoln coach Lane Young. “LaKeith (Ward) and Darius (Clark)  played well in place of Duane Marshall.

     Coach Rusty Newman’s Cobras fell behind early and were unable to establish their deliberate game plan.

     “Our half-court man defense was really good in the first half tonight,” Young pointed out. “We let down a little bit and Wesson kept playing hard. Wesson has a real good team.”

     The Cobras got 12 point from Terry Brown. Five rebounds apiece by Farrod Green and Dartavious Dixon led Wesson on the backboards.