HATTIESBURG, Miss. – UT Southern jumped out to a blistering start Thursday, at No. 20 William Carey, but a second-half surge proved too much to overcome as the Firehawks fell 89–75.
The Firehawks could not have scripted a better opening stretch. After an early turnover, Antonio Cochran buried a three-pointer at the 19:22 mark to give UT Southern a 3–0 lead. Moments later, Mike Bell, Jr. finished in the paint, and Daniel Reyes followed with a layup after grabbing two offensive rebounds on the same possession to push the advantage to 7–2.
De'Marreon Baldwin took over from there. The junior guard scored on back-to-back jumpers and converted in transition to spark a 14–0 run. Bell, Jr. knocked down a three off a Cochran assist, and Baldwin added another fast-break layup to stretch the lead to 16–2. The Firehawks continued to pour it on, building a 30–8 advantage after a Jack Harper jumper at the 9:43 mark, their largest lead of the night at 22 points.
Cochran connected on another three-pointer midway through the half, and Baldwin attacked the rim again to keep UT Southern in control. Despite a late push trimming the margin, Baldwin scored on a jumper with 15 seconds left to send the Firehawks into halftime with a 43–36 lead. UT Southern shot 58.1 percent from the field and 71.4 percent from three in the opening half.
The second half turned quickly. After an Eric Robinson jumper gave UT Southern a 45–38 lead, William Carey began to heat up from the perimeter. The Crusaders tied the game at 45–45 less than three minutes into the half and then used a string of three-pointers to seize control.
Bell, Jr. briefly halted the run with a three to tie the game at 48–48, and later added another triple at the 12:23 mark to keep the Firehawks within striking distance at 51–66. Cochran answered again with a three-pointer with five minutes remaining to trim the deficit, and Luke Lentz added a late three at the 2:56 mark as UT Southern continued to fight.
However, turnovers and hot outside shooting fueled a decisive second-half stretch. William Carey outscored UT Southern 53–32 in the final 20 minutes, overcoming the early deficit and pulling away down the stretch.
Cochran led UT Southern with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, knocking down five of his six three-point attempts while adding a double-double with 10 rebounds. Baldwin followed with 16 points and four rebounds, and Bell, Jr. added 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting with six rebounds and four assists. JaMil Wilson contributed seven points and four boards, while Robinson added five points and three assists. Harper and Reyes each chipped in five and four points, respectively, and Kiah Key and Lentz each added three off the bench.
UT Southern closes out its final road trip of the regular season Saturday at Loyola.
FOLLOW THE FIREHAWKS
Stay up to date with all the latest action from UTS Athletics! Follow the Firehawks on social media:
Twitter: @utsathletics
Instagram: @utsouthernathletics
Facebook: @UT Southern Firehawks
Don't miss a moment — Go Firehawks!
