February 8, 2022
The Warriors of ÐÓ°ÉÊÓƵ trimmed a 20-point first-half deficit to just four points in the final minutes on Monday night, February 7, but just could not get over the final hurdle in a tough 69-59 loss to Holmes. The Warriors drop to 4-13, 2-9 on the year, while Holmes improved to 8-11, 4-6.
Holmes was in control early in Monday's MACCC matchup as they quickly got in front, 10-2. The Warriors began finding the basket more frequently at the 15-minute mark, but Holmes continued to grow their lead with stellar shooting, especially from three-point range. At the half, ÐÓ°ÉÊÓƵ trailed 44-24 as Holmes went 8-for-16 from deep, while ÐÓ°ÉÊÓƵ was 2-for-15 on three-pointers.
The lead stayed around the 20-point range for the opening minutes of the second half until ÐÓ°ÉÊÓƵ's (DeKalb) sparked a Warrior rally with a drive to the basket. The score kick-started a 12-3 ÐÓ°ÉÊÓƵ run that saw baskets from (Quitman), (Laurel), and (Flowood) and cut the lead to just nine, 57-48.
Holmes bounced back and built the lead back up to 15, but another ÐÓ°ÉÊÓƵ scoring burst, capped off by back-to-back three-pointers from Mackey and Keys pulled the lead down to four, 63-59, with less than three minutes to play. The Bulldogs responded on the other end, and quickly got a turnover to hang on to the lead.
Keys finished with an 18 point, 17 rebound double-double, a career-high night on the boards, while Granger scored a career-high 18 points as he was 4-for-8 from beyond the arc. The duo were ÐÓ°ÉÊÓƵ's only double-digit scorers, while Tyler Talley led Holmes with 22 points. The Warriors finished the night shooting 34 percent from the floor, 27 percent from three-point range, and 43 percent from the free-throw stripe. ÐÓ°ÉÊÓƵ outrebounded Holmes, 42-39, and posted seven blocks in the loss. However, Holmes dished 20 assists to ÐÓ°ÉÊÓƵ's 10.
The Warriors are on the road this Thursday, February 10, as the team travels to Ellisville to take on the Jones College Bobcats (14-5, 6-3) at 6 p.m. That game can be seen live at jcjc.tv.
