In the Battle of the Bears, The Baton Rouge Bears would come up short in Summit.

Saturday December 2, 2023: Men's Basketball

Summit, MS

This was the seventeenth Battle of the Bears. The Southwest Mississippi Bears would defeat the Baton Rouge Bears 82 to 72, this afternoon in Summit, Mississippi.

The opening minutes of the ball game were a back-and-forth battle between the two ball clubs. In the first 9:25, the game saw five lead changes. At the 10:35 mark, the Southwest Mississippi Bears would take a 17-14 lead with a three pointer.  The Baton Rouge Bears would take a brief lead late in the first half, but the Southwest Mississippi Bears would close out the half with two key free throws and a layup at the buzzer to take a 44-39 lead into the half. Southwest Mississippi would outscore Baton Rouge 44 to 39, in the first half.

Southwest Mississippi would open the second half on an 8-3 run. The Baton Rouge Bears would claw their way back into the ball game but could only get as close as four points with 8:25 remaining in the game. Southwest Mississippi would eventually pull away and come up with the 82 to 72 victory. Southwest Mississippi outscored Baton Rouge 38 to 33, in the second half.

The Baton Rouge Bears were led in scoring by Jaylen Streeter with 18 points. Southwest Mississippi Bears were led in scoring by Mark Drone with 24 points. Southwest Mississippi had four student athletes score in double figures. Baton Rouge had three student athletes score in double figures.

The Baton Rouge Bears fall to 4-7, while the Southwest Mississippi Bears improve to 6-4 on the season. Baton Rouge now holds a slim 9-8 overall series record over Southwest Mississippi.

Bears Highlights:

Jaylen Streeter led all Bears with 18 points.

Jaiden Lee added 16 points.

Jarrell Love scored 10 points.

The Bears will take some time off for finals. They will return to action on Thursday December 7, 2023, when they will face the East Central Warriors, in the Bears Den, at 7:30 pm.

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