Cobras defeat West Lincoln
BY BRADLEY CROW
The Wesson Cobras used a patient, pass-first offense and a renewed sense of team to sweep the West Lincoln Bears in a game that was crucial to the survival of a struggling Cobra team that was looking to rescue its season.
The Cobras (13-8) defeated the Bears 49-45 in a game the Cobras controlled from start to finish. Head Coach Ron Kessler’s approach to the game was quite different than previous nights, often getting in his players faces for mistakes and miscues that had become the norm over the past few weeks. Kessler’s sense of urgency was heard by his squad as they played a complete team game minus all the ill-fated three point attempts and fewer errant passes.
“We needed to play better…period,” stated Kessler. “I thought we did that tonight and I hope our guys rally around this win and finish the season strong.”
The Cobras were led by senior center Josh Hart who had 14 points and 7 rebounds on the evening. Senior forward Matthew Cliburn chipped in 14 points and 7 boards in the winning effort. Senior guard Lonnie Reeves added 13 points while junior guard Josh Hood passed his way to 5 assists. The Bears, coached by former Wesson player and coach Lane Young, was led by Jamey Byrd’s 15 point effort.
Earlier in the week, the Cobras were blown out of the Loyd Star gym by a talented Hornet bunch that had nipped the Cobras earlier in the season by only one point. The 85-66 district whipping was a combination of shoddy Cobra play and a Hornet squad taking advantage of their home turf.
The Cobras were led on the court by Hart’s 12 point, 12 rebound night. Cliburn scored 12 points and 7 rebounds on the evening in the losing effort. Guards Cody King and Hood had 10 points each on the forgetful evening.
The Cobras face a Tuesday night district contest at home with St. Joseph followed by a big district home game against the Enterprise Yellow Jackets Friday evening at 6:00 and 7:30 p.m.
LADY COBRAS
The Lady Cobras of Wesson found the past week to be rough as they dropped a pair of contests to Lincoln County rivals with a 14 point district loss to the Loyd Star Lady Hornets and a 14 point loss to the Lady Bears of West Lincoln.
The young Lady Cobras faced a tough Lady Hornet squad and played well in spurts, but fell in the end 55-41 on a night where shooting was spotty and no basket came easy.
The Lady Cobras (13-10) were led by sophomore Ann Shelby Davis’ 12 points in the loss to the Lady Hornets.
The Lady Cobras looked to rebound Friday evening against the Lady Bears but fell cold in the 3rd quarter and dropped a 55-41 decision to West Lincoln.
Wesson had already beaten the Lady Bears 65-60 at home in Wesson but West Lincoln guard Tati Marshall scored 16 on the night to give them the win. The third quarter of the ballgame proved to be fatal for the Lady Cobras as West Lincoln ran up 21 points on the period to Wesson’s 11 point output.
“We did a poor job of handling their pressure,” stated Lady Cobra head coach Hugh Webb. “We just threw the ball away and made careless mistakes that cost us the ballgame.’
The Cobras were led once again by Davis’11 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Point guard Marian Allen chipped in 7 points while guard Ansley Schimmel pumped in 6 points in the losing effort.
The Lady Cobras face three big district games this week with a home game with St. Joe Tuesday, a home game with the Yellow Jackets of Enterprise Friday, and then travel to St. Joe for another district contest Saturday.
