DECATUR – The Southwest Bears and Lady Bears continue to roll in South Divisional JUCO basketball action as they swept East Central in a double header Thursday night.

In the women’s game, The Southwest Lady Bears overcame a tough first-half effort by host East Central to pull away in the second half and claim a 65-44 win.

The win propelled the Lady Bears to an overall record of 13-2. At 5-1, they are in a tie with Meridian and Pearl River for first place in the MACJC South Division. East Central dropped to 7-8 and 2-4.

In men’s action, the Bears soon put it into high gear in the second half and came home with a convincing 86-65 win over the host East Central Warriors.

With the win, their third straight, the Bears moved to 9-6 overall and, at 3-3, into a tie with Pearl River for fourth place in the MACJC South Division. East Central fell to 6-9 and 2-4.

Southwest returns to action Monday when they host Meridian. Tipoff for the contest is 5:30 p.m. for the women’s game, followed by the men’s contest at 7:30.

Lady Bears 65, Lady Warriors 44 

The first half was a tight one from the start, featuring four ties and eight lead changes. Southwest went on top 14-8 on a Madison Mault three pointer with 12:33 to play. An Elayne Robinson free throw with 4:37 to play gave them another six-point lead, 26-20. But, the Lady Warriors closed out the first half on an 11-4 run to take a 31-30 lead into the break.

The second half proved to be much easier for Southwest. A pair of Katrina Littlepage charity shots with 18:05 to play in the game put the Lady Bears on top 32-31. Minutes later, with 12:33 left, a Courtney Epting layup pushed the lead to 10 points, 45-35. Only once the rest of the game were the Lady Warriors able to narrow their deficit below double digits.

Southwest went on top by 20 points, 59-39, on a Talisa Sherman bucket with 4:53 left to go and the Lady Bears went on to the 21-point victory.

Littlepage picked up 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists to pace the Lady Bears to the win. April Levy and Epting were also in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Fredrikah Wilson registered seven points while Mault added five and Tee Myers and Reyes both scored four. Sherman and Elayne Robinson both netted three points. The Lady Bears hit 11 of 17 free throws.

East Central was led by Tanihhija Hughes’ 11 points. The Lady Warriors made good on seven of 12 free throws.

Bears 86, Warriors 65 

East Central took an early 2-0 lead and was on top 8-7 with 15:38 to play in the half. But, sparked by a Twymond Howard jumper and capped by Christian Robbins’ layup, the Bears went on an 11-0 run to take an 18-8 lead with 11:59 on the clock. Only once the rest of the night did the lead fall below 10 points.

A pair of Chris Jones free throws put the Bears on top by 15, 35-20, with 4:07 to play in the half. They took a 13-point, 39-26, advantage into the locker room at the break.

The Warriors pulled to within 10 points, 39-29, on Ramone Tate’s three-pointer with 18:50 left in the game. But, the rest of the game was all Southwest. An 8-0 run, capped by a Jaylen Moore basket, gave the Bears a 60-34 lead with 11:37 to go. A pair of Justin McCray free throws with 1:49 left gave them their biggest lead of the night, 82-55, and they went on to claim the 21-point victory.

Moore topped the Bears scoring attack with 16 points in the game. Howard and Jones both picked up 12 points (Howard added 13 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season) while Corey Williams and Deione Weeks also were in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

McCray registered eight points and Jamal Hester had seven. Robbins and Xavion Dillon both netted two points. The Bears shot 77 percent from the free throw line, hitting 17 of 22.

Terrance Mujahid led East Central with 13 points. The Warriors struggled at the free throw line, hitting only 17 of 40.