SUMMIT – The Southwest Lady Bears survived a second-half meltdown Tuesday night to defeat the Northeast Lady Tigers, 51-49, in the final round of the Southwest Coca-Cola Classic. The win, their fourth in a row, moved the Lady Bears to 4-1 on the season.

In mens’ action, The Southwest Bears withstood a second-half rally by the visiting Northeast Tigers Tuesday to pick up a 73-62 win. The victory pushed the Bears to a 4-1 mark and dropped the Tigers to 1-5.

Southwest 51, Northeast 49 

Katrina Littlepage led the Lady Bears with 17 points in the game. Myers had a double-double with 12 points and 19 rebounds. Wilson picked up seven points while Levy had six. Elayne Robinson netted four points, and recorded 12 rebounds, while Madison Mault and Talisa Sherman both scored two points. Courtney Epting got on the board with one point.

“We started really well,” said Southwest head coach Brent Harris. “We talked about bringing lots of energy tonight (and) we did that early. In the second half, we missed on some good opportunities to stretch the lead. But, to their (Northeast’s) credit, they would not allow it. We need to finish games with a sense of urgency,”

Teresa Mays led three Northeast players in double figures with 12 points. The Lady Tigers made good on 15 of 23 free throws.

Southwest 73, Northeast 62 

Twymond Howard led the Bears with his fourth double-double of the year, scoring 15 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Moore also had 15 points while Deione Weeks and Chris Jones were in double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively.

Jamal Hester and Williams both picked up five points. The Bears hit 16 of 27 free throws.

“We just got so lethargic midway through the second half,” said Southwest head coach Casey Carter. “Give Northeast credit; they kept on fighting. (Tigers’ head) Coach Cord Wright has done a great job with an impressive team. They know their roles and they did a good job.”

“We got broke down on defense (and) kind of got away from details,” Carter went on. “Having Twymond out the last 10 minutes obviously messed up our rhythm. We were never able to get going after he fouled out. We’ve got to learn to play without him. So, maybe this was a good chance for us to see how much better we’ve got to get without him.”

Marcus Hogan netted 12 points to pace the Northeast offense. The Tigers were good on 14 of 24 free throws.

After taking some time off, the Bears and Lady Bears return to action Monday when they travel to Mobile, AL, to face Bishop State. Tipoff is set for 5:30.