BOGUE CHITTO – The Bogue Chitto Lady Cats and the West Lincoln Bears were victorious in a tough defensive contest Friday night in Lincoln County Round-Robin basketball tournament action at the Bobcat Palace.

In the girls’ contest, the Lady Cats managed to survive a tough defensive battle to stay unbeaten in tournament action with a 35-29 victory over the Lady Bears.

In the boys’ game, the Bears survived a late fourth quarter rally by Bogue Chitto to escape with a 47-46 win over the Bobcats.

Bogue Chitto resumes action Monday as they prepare to host the Salem Wildcats for three games. Junior varsity boys’ action starts at 5 p.m., followed by varsity games at 6 and 7:30 p.m.

West Lincoln will also be in action Monday as they welcome the Franklin County Bulldogs to Jack Case Gymnasium for three games. Junior varsity boys’ action tips off at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity girls’ and boys’ games.

BC 35, West Lincoln 29 

The Lady Cats and the Lady Bears battled in a defensive contest as West Lincoln claimed a 10-6 lead in the first quarter and continued to slow down Bogue Chitto in the second quarter with the game tied 16-all at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Lady Cats managed to break through West Lincoln’s defense to outscore the Lady Bears with a 12-4 run to claim a 24-20 lead.

In the final quarter of action, BC (10-2) held off a late West Lincoln rally with an 11-9 run to secure the win.

“Tonight, I thought West Lincoln did a great job controlling the tempo of the game,” BC coach Christi Terrell said. “We had a good few minutes that we controlled the tempo which put us ahead in the game. We missed the front end of one and one free-throw shots that could have been costly, we must do with better job at that. And our beginning offense was nothing short of ugly! Our defensive pressure was important tonight that helped us get some big steals. West Lincoln has a very patient offense that runs lots of minutes off the clock. Both teams played hard tonight.”

Junior guard Zariah Matthews pumped in 22 points and had six steals to lead the Lady Cats. Christian Black powered the boards for BC with seven rebounds.

Hanna Moak paced the Lady Bears (2-7) with 15 points and nine rebounds. Carly Holden contributed seven points.

“The girls gave a good effort,” West Lincoln coach Lane Young said. “In the end, we did not play smart ball in the fourth quarter. Zariah Matthews did a great job taking over the game for Bogue Chitto to claim the win.”

West Lincoln 47, BC 46 

In the final matchup of the night, the Bears and Bobcats provided a thrilling contest for their basketball fans as it was a close game through the whole series. West Lincoln put together a 9-7 run in the first quarter and a 12-8 run in the second quarter to take a 21-15 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, the Bears increased the lead with a 17-14 run to take a 38-29 lead into the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Bobcats (1-11) rallied back to outscore the Bears 17-9, but two free throws from West Lincoln’s Ronnie Edwards helped preserve the win for the Bears as time expires on the Bobcats’ last shot with three tenths of a second left.

“We were very fortunate to get the win,” Young said. “We played real poorly in the fourth quarter. Bogue Chitto did a great job staying in the game until the very end. Hopefully, we can learn from this experience and do better as the season moves on.”

Edwards directed the Bears (3-6) with a team-high 15 points, Keshaun London and Zekenith Porter contributed nine points apiece. London powered the Bears on the board with 10 rebounds. Lofton Sills and Javian Mackabee helped on the board with six rebounds each.

D.J. Nunnery powered the Bobcats attack with a game-high 21 points, Jeremiah Perkins had a double-double performance with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

“The guys played a great game,” BC coach Mark Pitts said. “We managed to slow down West Lincoln to keep the game close. Although, this was a tough loss to handle, I was very pleased with my guys’ efforts.”