A Copiah-Lincoln scoring run in the final six minutes proved unsuccessful for the Wolves Thursday night as Co-Lin fell to the Bulldogs of Mississippi Gulf Coast 81-78.

The loss moves the Wolves’ overall record to 6-4 and 0-2 in the MACJC South Division. Co-Lin is back in action Tuesday at 8 p.m. as the Wolves host Hinds.

“It was nice to see our guys wake up and catch fire late in the game,” Co-Lin head coach Kenny Bizot said. “It showed a lot of maturity on this team, but there are things we have to improve on. We have to be more patient with the basketball.”

Mississippi Gulf Coast grabbed a small lead early in the contest after an 8-1 run in the first half of play. The Wolves were unable to chip away at the small seven to eight point lead as Gulf Coast responded to all of Co-Lin’s baskets with goals of their own.

With 12:52 remaining in the game, the Bulldogs led by a game-high 16 points. At the 6:58 mark, the Wolves cut into Gulf Coast’s lead with three quick three-pointers from Vincent Philips, Jonathan Floyd, and Anthony Jones. The 9-0 run took just 50 seconds and narrowed the lead to just four. The Wolves continued to battle into the final minutes and sliced the lead to just three points in the final seconds of play. The Wolves were unable to find a game tying three-pointer as time expired.

The freshman Phillips led the Wolves in the scoring column with 21 points and reeled in eight rebounds as well. Jonathan “Biscuit” Floyd finished the contest with 20 points and a team high five assists, while Lamarcus Lee added an additional 14 points and nine rebounds. Trae Thompson rounded out Co-Lin’s top scores with seven points.

Co-Lin shot 34 percent (25-for-73) from the field, 32 percent (12-for-37) from three-point range, and 67 (16-of-24) percent from the free throw line. Gulf Coast shot 47 percent (32-for-68) from the field, 31 percent (5-for-16) from three-point range, and 75 percent (12-for-16) from the foul line.

Lady Wolves 96, Lady Bulldogs 42

The Lady Wolves moved to 2-0 in the MACJC South Division and 9-1 overall after a big win over the Mississippi Gulf Coast Lady Bulldogs on Thursday night. The 69-29 victory was the Lady Wolves’ second large win last week after Tuesday’s 96-42 rout of Coahoma. Co-Lin is back in action at 6 p.m. as the Lady Wolves host Hinds.

“Tonight was a good win for us,” Co-Lin girls’ head coach Gwyn Young said. “Every game from here on out is going to be important. There are going to be a lot of teams fighting for those four spots to be in the state tournament. We had great a great effort tonight. We were just playing really hard.”

The Lady Wolves’ defensive play was ferocious from the tipoff of the contest. Co-Lin held the Lady Bulldogs to just two points in the entire first quarter of action. The Lady Wolves spread the ball around the floor nicely throughout the first quarter as the team outscored Gulf Coast 19-2. The trend continued in the second quarter as Co-Lin’s lead continued to grow as several Lady Wolves found the bottom of the net. The Lady Bulldogs found footing with 4:45 remaining in the half as they went on a quick eight-point run to cut Co-Lin’s lead to just 11. The Lady Wolves quickly recovered and entered the locker leading by 18.

In the second half, several players came off the bench for Co-Lin and lit up the scoreboard. The effort extended the Lady Wolves’ lead to as many as 43 in the final quarter of action.

Sophomore Danisha Davis came off the bench to lead the Lady Wolves in scoring with 16 points, shooting 7-for-9 from the field and 2-for-3 from three-point range. Alexus Holt poured in an additional 14 points, while Diamond Smith posted nine points and four blocks. Debraia Bell led the Lady Wolves in rebounds with 16.

The Lady Wolves shot 43 percent (30-for-70) from the field, 24 percent (4-for-17) from three-point range, and 29 percent (5-for-17) from the foul line. The Lady Bulldogs shot 23 percent (13-for-57) from the field, 0 percent (0-for-19) from three-point range, and 38 percent (3-for-8) from the free throw line.