Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage
PAID Summit, MS
39666 Permit No. 10
March 31, 2016
Serving SMCC Since 1940
Volume 71, No. 6
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[email protected]URR
Index
Editorial... 2
Sports...5
Cartoons...7
Ads... 8
Campus Events
Friday, April 1
Princess Ball @ 6:30 Student Union
Cheer Team Tryouts @ 1 Grill Gym
Softball@ 1:00 P.M. Itawamba Home
Saturday, April 2
Baseball@ 2 P.M. Meridian CC Home
Tuesday, April 5
Scheduling for Summer & Fall 2016 Classes begin Baseball @ 3 P.M. Baton Rouge CC Home
Softball@ 1:00 P.M. Hinds CC Home
Thursday, April 8-10 Spring Stage Show – Friday, Saturday @ 7 P.M. & Sunday @ 2 P.M.
Friday, April 8 Softball@ 2:00 P.M.
Northwest CC Senatobia, MS
Saturday, April 9
Baseball@ 2 P.M. NWMS CC Home
Monday, April 11
FEA meeting upstairs in the Student Union @ 12
Wednesday, April 13 Baseball@ 3 P.M. MS Gulf Coast Home
Softball@ 1:00 P.M. East Central CC Home
Friday, April 15-20
2016 Collegiate DECA Int’l Career Development Conference in D.C.
Saturday, April 16
Baseball@ 2 P.M. Itawamba CC Fulton, MS
Softball@ 1:00 P.M. Northeast CC Home
Monday, April 18-21 Spring Fest Week
Tuesday, April 19
Baseball@ 3:00 P.M. Hinds CC Raymond, MS
Thursday, April 21 Bear Necessities Day
Saturday, April 23 Baseball@ 2:00 P.M. Coahoma CC Home
Wednesday, April 27 Awards Day
Baseball@ 3:00 P.M. East Central CC Decatur, MS
Saturday, April 30
Baseball@ 1:00 P.M. NEMS CC Booneville, MS
Tuesday, May 3
Wesley Foundation Game Night @ 7 P.M.-9 P.M.
Tuesday, May 3 Final Exams: 8:00-10:00- 1 MWF 10:15-12:15- 4 MWF 1:00-3:00- B TR 3:00-5:00- 6 MWF
Wednesday, May 4 Final Exams: 8:00-10:00- 5 MWF 10:15-12:15- C TR 1:00-3:00- 2 MWF 3:00-5:00- E TR
Thursday, May 5 Final Exams: 8:00-10:00- A TR 10:15-12:15- 3 MWF 1:00-3:00- D TR
P B
Bears win State
by Michael D. Gunnell,Southwest Sports Information and Amy Gazzo, Public Relations Director
A 53-year drought ended Thursday night in Fulton when the Southwest Bears picked up their third MACJC men’s basket-ball state championship with a thrilling 94-83 overtime win over the Jones County Bobcats. This was the Bears’ first state title since the 1962-63 team won it all under the direction of the late Horace Holmes.
The win moved the Bears to 17-8 on the season while the Bobcats fell to 17-7.
A Lafayette Rutledge three pointer had the Bears on top 4-2 with 17:35 left in the opening half. The Bobcats then scored seven straight and took a 9-4 lead on Rickey Holden’s layup with 13:43 before the break.
With the Bears trailing 14-9, an Emanuel Thompson three pointer and two point field goal tied it at 14-14 with 8:50 left in the half. But, the Bobcats scored six straight to take their biggest lead of the half, 20-14, with 7:21 on the clock.
Scoring five of the next seven points, including a Bryce Baker three pointer, the Bears tied the game again, 21-21, with 4:38 left in the half. After the Bobcats went up 30-26, six straight points by Rodrick Sikes resulted in a 32-30 Bears’ lead with 1:32 on the clock.
After the Bobcats tied it at 32-32, Sikes’ jumper and Baker’s layup left the Bears with a 36-32 lead at the end of the half.
Back-to-back three pointers from Sikes and Rutledge put the Bears on top 42-34 with 18:24 left in the game. Outscoring the Bears 7-2, the Bobcats then closed the gap to 44-41 with 16:01 to go.
Three pointers from Sikes and Guy Johnson then served as bookends as the Bears went on a 9-2 “mini-run” to push their lead to 10 points, 53-43,with 13:41 remaining.
Leading 60-50, the Bears scored seven straight and took their biggest lead of the night, 67-50, with 7:28 left in the game. A 12-1 run by the Bobcats then nar-rowed that lead down to six, 68-62,with 4:33 left.
The Bobcats outscored the Bears 9-3 late in the half and found themselves down by only two, 73-71, with 2:09 to play.
Sikes nailed a pair of free throws to give the Bears a 75-71 advantage with 1:50 on the clock, but back-to-back baskets from Holden and Bruce Stevens knot-ted the game at 75-75 with 0:58 left.
The Bears had two shots at vic-tory in the last 0:29 of regulation, but both missed the mark to force the extra period.
A James Hawthorne three gave the Bears a 78-75 lead with 4:19 left in overtime. Sikes then made it 81-76 with 2:58 on the clock.
After Stevens’ layup cut the Bears’ lead to 81-78, they scored seven straight and took an 88-78 lead on a pair of Sikes free throws with 1:09 showing.
After Andre Johnson hit a jumper for the Bobcats to make the score 88-80, with 0:59 to play, Johnson and Sikes combined to hit three of four free throws for the Bears to extend their lead to 91-80 with 0:36 left.
Zebedee Rice hit a three point-er to trim the Bears’ lead to 91-83 with 0:25 to go, but the Bobcats would come no closer as the Bears hit three free throws down the stretch to secure the title.
“First and foremost,” said Bears’ Head Coach Thomas Gray post-game, “to God be the glory. He has blessed us beyond any-thing we deserve.”
“What else can I say about tonight?,” a jubilant Gray asked. “This was an unbelievable
expe-rience that as a coach I was extremely blessed to be a part of. I could not be happier for a group of guys as I am this group. I told our team at various points during the last month or so that we may not be the most talented group in the state, but I really believe we are the best team in terms of being for one another and gen-uinely loving each other.”
“It’s amazing how different guys have stepped up at different times throughout the games,” Gray continued, “and I think that kind of balance and awareness are what makes teams great.”
Giving credit to his assistant coaches, Gray said, “I am privi-leged to work alongside two of the best coaches you can find in Andy Farrell and Mike DuBose; those two guys are who make everything come together.”
Concluding his celebratory remarks, Gray said, “I am so thankful for all of our students, the administration, fans and fami-lies who made (the) long drive to Fulton tonight. This will be some-thing that we will all remember for a long, long time.”
Sikes was six of nine from the field and 17-22 from the free throw line in picking up a game-high 31 points for the Bears. Baker and Hawthorne both scored 13 while Johnson and Rutledge both tallied 10 points. The Bears made 31 of 44 free throws.
Stevens led the Bobcats with 19 points. He and his teammates combined to make 25 of 33 free throws.
On February 26, 2016, the Southwest Bears captured the 2015-16 Mississippi Association of Community and Junior College (MACJC) Men’s Basketball Championship in Fulton, MS. It was the program’s first state title in 53 years. Led by a team of four sophomores and ten freshmen, the Bears defeated Northwest Mississippi Community College 86-80 in the quarterfinals, East Mississippi Community College 61-59 in the semifinals, and Jones County Junior College 94-83 in overtime of the finals to claim Southwest’s first State Championship since the 1962-63 season.
As a reward for their outstand-ing season, the Bears were intro-duced to the Mississippi Legislature in the Senate chamber on Wednesday, March 16, 2016, at 10:00AM, and presented with a
resolution honoring their achieve-ment. Members of the Mississippi House who represent SMCC’s service area were in attendance as well.
The Bears finished the season at 17-8 overall and in third place (9-5) in the MACJC’s South Division. They were a remarkable 7-2 on the road and 3-0 in neutral site games throughout the season. They averaged 76.1 points per game while allowing only 51.6 (8th in the NJCAA).
2016 was certainly the Year of the Bears as the team produced a 12-4 mark in January and February. Going 5-2 in the month of January and 7-2 in the month of February, the Bears came together at the right time. They finished the season winning seven of their last eight games, including the three games in the MACJC State Tournament.
Leading the way for the Bears was second-year Head Coach Thomas Gray. Based on the team’s state-title run, Gray was named the HoopDirt.com National Coach of the Week for February 21-27, the first and only coach in the entire state of Mississippi (D1, D2, D3, NAIA, or Junior College) to earn such an honor.
Moreover, the turnaround from the first year to the second year under Gray is remarkable. The Bears won eight more games dur-ing the 2015-2016 campaign than they did during the previous sea-son, the most in the state. Additionally, they averaged 12.7 more points per game this season than they had in the previous, which is the second highest dif-ferential in the state.
Their scoring increase was sig-nificantly helped by the addition of sophomore forward Terrell Miller from Jacksonville, FL. Miller led the team with 15.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game throughout the season. The 9.5 rebounds per game ranked him 34th nationally. Even more impressive was the 20.1 points and 10.5 rebounds per game that he averaged in conference games. He had 10 double-doubles during the season and was a MACJC Player of the Week selection. Additionally, he was named MACJC First-Team All-State and First-Team NJCAA Region 23 All-Region and is a nominee for the NJCAA All-American Team.
Lafayette Rutledge, a sopho-more guard from Gautier, MS,
averaged 13.8 points per contest. He hit 84.8 percent of his free throws and 42.8 of his three-point field goals. Moreover, he led the state in three-point field goals made per game and only player in the state to be nationally ranked in the top 40 in that category. He was also a State Player of the Week honoree.
Emanuel “Trell” Thompson continued his winning ways with the Bears. The McComb, MS native won back-to-back 4A State Championships at McComb High School as a Junior and Senior (2013-2014, 2014-2015) and can claim the three-peat to his resume with this year’s MACJC State Championship. Thompson aver-aged 15.1 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game in conference play, second on the team in both categories.
Possibly the biggest surprise in the Bears’ title run was the tour-nament play of freshman guard Rodrick Sikes (Ocean Springs-St. Martin High School). Limited throughout the season at various times due to injuries, Sikes scored 27 points in the Bears’ win over Northwest in the tournament opener. In the championship game, he had 31 points when the Bears defeated Jones County in overtime. Sikes’ performance during the tournament earned him the Bears’ third MACJC Player of the Week award.
Providing much-needed sup-port for the Bears were five Jackson-area players. Bryce Baker, a freshman guard/forward from Hillcrest Christian School, averaged 6.8 points per game and started 23 of the 25 games this season for the Bears. Joseph Coleman, a freshman forward from Forest Hill High School, averaged 6.3 points per game and shot an astonishing 76.7 percent from the field, which at one time ranked him second nationally (he saw limited playing time due to an injury which ended his season at the beginning of January).
Enough cannot be said about sophomore guard/forward Chris McIntosh (Murrah High School) who averaged 3.2 points per game, but whose value cannot be understood by looking at a stat sheet. The Jackson native started half of his games as a Bear and was asked to play every position on the court throughout both his freshmen and sophomore sea-sons. A true leader and floor gen-eral, McIntosh adds another State
Championship to his resume to pair with his Murrah 6A High School State Championship from 2013.
Scoring 4.3 points per game was freshman guard Guy Johnson (Ridgeland High School) who led the Bears with a 2.8 Assist-to-Turnover ratio, which ranks him top-50 in the nation. Freshman guard Mario Doyle (Warren Central High School) totaled 3.5 points per game, including a 10-point performance off the bench during the State Semifinal victory over East Mississippi.
On-the-court success only shows a small glimpse of the Southwest men’s basketball pro-gram. Last year, during the 2014-2015 school year, the Bears fin-ished 1st in the MACJC and 2nd in the NJCAA (Division 1) with a 3.13 grade point average. Only Eastern Arizona had a better GPA among Division 1 men’s pro-grams. They continued to raise the bar with a 3.67 Team GPA in the summer and a 3.1 Team GPA in the fall of 2015. The Bears bas-ketball team was selected as the MACJC Men's basketball Academic Team of the Year and an NJCAA All-Academic Team. Over the past two seasons and under the leadership of Coach Gray, the Bears boast a remark-able 3.26 Team GPA.
Additionally, the Bears have been honored with multiple PTK (the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society is the official honor soci-ety for two-year colleges) nomi-nees and multiple student-athletes on both the Dean’s List and President’s List. Lafayette Rutledge received Honorable Mention for the Haier Achievement Award, an award for model student-athletes on the field and in the classroom. He was the only community college student-athlete and the only underclassman to receive this dis-tinction, with other student-ath-letes from the likes of UCLA, the University of Dayton, and the University of Illinois at Chicago. Rutledge also was elected into the Southwest Mississippi Community College Hall of Fame in February of 2016. Finally, this group of student-ath-letes at Southwest is a group that enjoys giving back to the commu-nity. The Bears are regular volun-teers at the Summit Rotary Club Basketball Camp where they coach and counsel the youth from all neighboring communities.
Editorial By Reagan Myers, Editor
I have had this s u b j e c t weighing on my heart for a very long time and now I think that it is a good time for it -- spending time with those that you love! Often, we do not realize how fast some-body that we love can be taken
away from us. It can happen in the blink of an eye though.
I, personally, had not realized it until July 20, 2015, when my grandfather was taken away from my family and me. This was a pain that I had never felt before and I could honestly not explain the feeling that I was experienc-ing. He was diagnosed with can-cer a couple of months back and we had been told that he would not make it much longer, but it was still a heart wrenching expe-rience! I was extremely close to my grandfather and looked up to him. I consider him one of my
heroes!
Even though, I lost somebody that I was extremely close to, I still strive to keep my head up and be the granddaughter that he would want me to be. In saying that, I am not saying that I don’t have bad days, but knowing that he loves me no matter what and is watching over me makes things a little more manageable. My papaw was definitely one of a kind! He loved everybody that he knew and came in contact with. He had a heart of gold and cared about everybody.
If you have ever experienced
the loss of a grandparent or even just somebody that you are close to, you know how hard it can be. I challenge those of you who still have your grandparents and all those that you love dearly to spend time with them. Make sure you constantly tell them how much they mean to you and how much you love them! Don’t hold grudges either because you will regret those! As Zig Ziglar says, “Spend time with those you love. One of these days you will say either, I wish I had, or I’m glad I did.”
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March 31, 2016
The Pine Burr
Editor...Reagan Myers
Co-Editors...Olivia Griffin, Seth Nieman,
Cody Pol, Ashley Prejean
Staff Writers...Tamera Bateaste, Lakin
Brown, Cody Gisclair, Garrett Graves, Christian
Green, Spencer Gros, Ednisha Hardy, Shalisa
Hawthorne, Ariel Hutson, Adrienne
Lomax-Rhymes, Martin McKnight, Mohammad
Mohammad, Emily Phillips, Katelynn Roberts,
Luke Snow, Hannah Thomas
Advisor...Joyce Mabry
The Pine Burr is published monthly during regular academic sessions. Views expressed in the newspaper are not necessarily those of the faculty and administration. Writers express themselves under their by-lines.
Offices are located in Kenna Hall, Room 29; the telephone number is 276-3843. The staff invites readers to submit opinion columns and letters to the editor. Pine Burr, Kenna Hall, Summit, MS 39666.
E-mail:
[email protected]
Southwest Mississippi Community College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, or disability in its programs, activities or employ-ment practices. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries and griev-ances regarding the non-discrimination policies: Rhonda Gibson, Director of Disability Support Services, 601-276-3885; Dr. Bill Ashley, Vice President of Student Affairs and Title IX Coordinator and Director of Athletics, 601-276-3717, 1156 College Dr., Summit, MS 39666.
Words from the SGA
Sophomore Secretary
Quote of the Month
“Tell me and I forget. Teach
me and I remember. Involve
me and I learn.”
- Benjamin Franklin
BEAR AWARE
In order to effectively communicate emergency information to SMCC employees and students, SMCC has implemented a rapid alert and notification system developed by SchoolCast. BearAware is a service that allows employees and students of SMCC to receive alerts, news, or other emergency information via text, email, or by phone. Participation in Bear Aware is not mandatory but encouraged. At this time, the only information entered into the SchoolCast database is the student's "smcc.edu" email address.
Please read the following because our procedures for handling Bear Aware have changed. An email has been sent to all current students, faculty, and staff with their login information for Bear Aware. Students, faculty, and staff no longer need to request this information by emailing [email protected].
New Bear Aware Support Procedure for Students
If a student has trouble with their Bear Aware account, they will need to follow the same procedure that has been established for email. The student will need to contact a faculty or staff member and the fac-ulty or staff member can submit a support request to [email protected]. Do not instruct a student to email [email protected], send the request on their behalf. We do this because the IT department has no way to verify the identity of the stu-dent, so this is the best method we have to protect the student’s account. Once again, there is no need for anyone to email [email protected] for help with Bear Aware. Moving forward, this account will be designated for communication in an emergency situ-ation only.
New Bear Aware Support Procedure for Faculty and Staff
If you have trouble with your Bear Aware account, send an email to [email protected] to create an IT support ticket. If you do not have a Bear Aware account, you may request one by also sending an email to [email protected] to create an IT support ticket. If you previously sent a request to [email protected] and it hasn’t been answered, forward your request to [email protected] to create an IT support ticket.
Editorial
Editorial: Spending time with
loved ones
Reagan Myers Dear Fellow Students,
Spring is here, and our community and campus are beginning to look better than ever. Our baseball and softball teams have both excelled so far this season, and our men’s basketball team made history by winning their first state title in 53 years. I hope all of our students, faculty, and administration will continue to support the Bears as we head down the final stretch of the school year.
We only have a few weeks left together this year, and I hope that all of the sophomores will take the time to look back on the great memories they’ve made at Southwest as the weeks go on. Our school’s Phi Theta Kappa chapter, Omicron Delta, is hosting their second annual “Color Run” on April 18th, so be sure to sign up and participate in the fun! I also hope everyone makes an effort to participate in Bear Necessities Day on April 21st! The field day festivities will surely be a great time for all. Let’s all try to end the school year on a good note by attending these events. Hope to see you there!
Seth Nieman
SGA Sophomore Secretary
Seth Nieman
BSU members share in Seattle
Space Needle - Seattle, WA -:Madison Caire, Britni Godbold, Whitni Godbold, Ja’Bria Durrell, Rebecca Richmond, Stephanie Rimes, Jessi Barnes;second row: Abby Bui, Reagan Myers, Courtni Godbold, Daniel Herndon, Tyler Dunn, Danaraye Parks, Karinlee Brister, Laken Brock;third row: Josh Hutson, Kohl Rester, Kendyl Adam, Wes Wroten, Joey Elliott, Josh Wiggins; fourth row: T.J. Walsh, Luke Hartness, Brandon Bergeron, Hunter Willis, Will Fauver
By Reagan Myers, Editor
During spring break, twenty-four students, including myself, and two chaperones from Southwest Baptist Student Union, went to serve the city of Seattle, Washington. On the first day that we were in Seattle, our team got to serve at The Loyal Heights Community Center, where we were able to help with a pancake breakfast. This included us serv-ing food to people of the commu-nity, cooking, and cleaning. A few of the students on the trip were able to talk with a young guy from the area. Although he pro-fessed that he did not believe in God, he still stuck around and lis-tened to what everybody that
spoke with him had to say. It was a great start to our week and we could tell that God had already started working in us! On Sunday night, we had the opportunity to worship with the people of VONA Church. VONA Church was the church in Seattle that invited us and who we worked alongside while we were there.
On Monday, twenty of us were able to go to The Ballard Community Center to help pre-pare for upcoming Easter activi-ties. During our time there, we stuffed Easter eggs, manicured the lawn, and moved things out of the storage for the activities. The other six people in our group went to a local food pantry, where they helped restock shelves. On
Tuesday, we were able to spend a day touring the city. We went to the Space Needle and then explored downtown and got to shop. We also were able to visit the first ever Starbucks. Even on our day off, we still were minis-tering to those in the city. We had some rewarding encounters with some of the people of Seattle and we know that only God can trans-form them now. Finally on Wednesday, we hiked down the mountain to the beach to help with a cleanup project and also talked to people there. On Wednesday afternoon, we worked at a food drive at Walgreens to help the ones in need in the com-munity.
I asked Madison Caire and
Joey Elliott, two students that went, what they thought of Seattle and these were their responses. Madison said, “It was definitely life changing. I became bolder in my faith through this wonderful experience.” She also said, “I was glad I was able to experience a completely different culture.” Joey said, “I had an amazing time and pray that the seeds we planted will grow!”
I believe that I can speak for everybody that was on this trip and say that it was one of the best things that any of us have ever done. Although it was definitely trying at times, we made it through and feel as if we honored God and made a positive impact on the city.
Get fit
By Ashley S. Prejean, co-editor
Why should you bother trying to get into shape or stay in shape? Many people do not feel the need to get their body toned or to con-tinue keeping their body in shape once they reach their fitness goal. However, once you reach that goal, it is important to continue a regular exercise and diet regimen. This keeps your body how you want it, and it preserves your health in the long run.
One of the best reasons to get into shape and to continue exer-cising is the effects exercise and diet have on your overall health. Exercise helps reduce cholesterol, helps prevent heart disease and certain cancers, and even helps prevent the onset of diabetes. Not only is exercise beneficial to overall health, but it also benefits
a person’s psyche. It improves things such as sleep, confidence, self-esteem, and it reduces anxi-ety and depression. Exercise can make you simply feel better and lift your spirits all the way around.
Exercising and eating right can go a long way in improving a per-son’s quality of life. Why not do an activity that is going to make you feel better, give you that much-needed energy boost, pro-long your life, and make your life easier? There are so many ways to exercise without having to pay outrageous gym fees. Some easy and inexpensive ways to exercise are taking a walk or jog around the walking path at Hollywood Cemetery, taking a hike on the trails at Percy Quin State Park, walking everywhere on campus instead of driving, or walking on
the track behind the hospital. There are numerous ways to get in shape, and there is no boundary to the creativity. of what you can come up with.
3
March 31, 2016
News
Post
basketball
honors
Terrell Miller, Lafayette Rutledge, Emanuel Thompson and LeDerrius Simmons, all members of the MACJC men’s basketball state champions Southwest Bears, have received post-season honors from the
league and the NJCAA. Miller (6’ 8”, 250) a sopho-more forward from Jacksonville, FL, was named to the NJCAA All-Region 23 team and was also selected 1st Team All-State by the coaches of the MACJC.
Miller, a Murray State commit, led the Bears in scoring with 15.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game and was an MACJC Player of the Week selection. He recorded 10 double-doubles during the season and had a season-high 19 rebounds in back-to-back wins over Gulf Coast and Co-Lin in January. He scored a season-high 33 points in the January 14 win over Gulf Coast.
Rutledge (5’ 11, 175), a sopho-more guard from Gautier High School, has been named 2nd Team All-State and selected to participate in the April 15 MACJC All-Star game at East Central Community College. He was second on the team with 13.8 points per game. He hit 42.8 per-cent from beyond the three-point line, tops on the team, and hit 84.8 percent of his free throws.
He hit a season-high eight three pointers, and finished with a season-high 28 points, in the Bears’ January win over Mississippi Delta. He was also a league Player of the Week selec-tion.
Thompson (6’ 4”, 205), a freshman guard/forward from McComb High School, is an All-State Honorable Mention. In his first year with the Bears, Thompson averaged 11.1 points per game. He hit 50.3 percent of his field goals and 73.3 percent of his free throws.
Simmons (5’ 8”, 160), a soph-omore guard from McComb High School, has been chosen as an alternate for the All-Star game.
Three members of the Lady Bears’ basketball team have received post-season honors from the coaches of the MACJC and NJCAA Region 23.
Gabriella Cortez was selected and named to the NJCAA All-Region 23 team and was also selected 1st Team All-State. Teammates Alissa Adam and Teshia Jones were 2nd Team All-State honorees.
Cortez (5’ 11”), a sophomore from Natchitoches (LA) High School, led the Lady Bears with 16.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game and hit 79.9 percent of her free throws. She had a season-high 24 points in a December game against Baton Rouge and four times pulled down nine rebounds.
Adam (5’ 8”), a freshman guard from Hancock High School, averaged 12. 3 points and 6.6 assists per contest. Her assists have her 5th in the NJCAA. She hit 83.7 percent of her free throws and 30.7 percent of her three-point attempts. She had a season-high 32 points in a February win against state cham-pion East Central.
Jones (5’ 5”) a sophomore guard from Stringer was second on the team with 14.3 points per game. She recorded a season-high 22 points in wins over Gulf Coast and Spring Hill.
Cortez and Jones will both participate in the MACJC All-Star game on April 15 at East Central Community College.
above: Dr. Bill Ashley, Athletic Director; Andy Farrell, Assistant Basketball Coach; Dr. Steve Bishop, SMCC President; Thomas Gray, Head Basketball Coach; and Mike DuBose, Assistant Basketball Coach, celebrate the MACJC Men's Basketball State Championship.
Southwest #1 in MACJC State
Men’s team wins state
Emanuel Thompson, Zach Barnes, Mario Doyle, Rodrick Sikes, LeDerrius Simmons, Guy Johnson, Derrick Thompson, Lafayette Rutledge; second row: Thomas Gray, Head Basketball Coach; Mike DuBose, Assistant Basketball Coach; Joseph Coleman, Bryce Baker, James Hawthorne, Sean Smith, Terrell Miller, Ben Howze, Chris McIntosh, Andy Farrell, Assistant Basketball Coach
Southwest Mississippi
Community College Men’s
Basketball Team was honored
at the State Capitol. The State
Senate and House of
Representatives passed
resolutions honoring SMCC
championship.
Southwest Mississippi Community College Men’s Basketball Team was honored at the State Capitol Wednesday. The State Senate and House of Representatives passed resolu-tions honoring SMCC champi-onship. Pictured includes: From
left, front row, Rep. Vince Mangold, Rep. Sam Mims, SMCC President Dr. Steve Bishop, Sen. Tammy Witherspoon, Sen. Bob Dearing, SMCC Head Coach Thomas Gray and SMCC Athletic Director Bill Ashley; second row, players
James Hawthorne, Terrell Miller, Emanuel Thompson and Chris McIntosh; third row, Assistant Coach Mike DuBose, players Sean Smith, Joseph Coleman, Ben Howze and Bryce Baker; fourth row, Student Assistant Donnie Thibodeaux, players Guy
Johnson, Zack Barnes and Rodrick Sikes and Student Assistant Flozell Johnson; back row, player Mario Doyle, Assistant Coach Andy Farrell, players LeDerrius Simmons and Lafayette Rutledge and Student Assistant Greg Henderson.
A CONCURRENT RESOLU-TION COMMENDING AND CON-GRATULATING THE SOUTH-WEST MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE “BEARS” BASKET-BALL TEAM AND HEAD COACH THOMAS GRAY FOR WINNING ITS FIRST STATE CHAMPI-ONSHIP IN 53 YEARS AND REC-OGNIZING FRESHMAN GUARD RODRICK SIKES AS MACJC “PLAYERS OF THE WEEK.”
WHEREAS, a 53-year drought ended on February 25, 2016 in Fulton, Mississippi, when the Southwest Mississippi Community College “Bears” Basketball Team won the MACJC Men’s Basketball State Championship with a thrilling 94-83 overtime win over the Jones County Bobcats. This was the Bears’ first State Title since the 1962-1963 team won it all under the direction of the late Horace Holmes. The win moved the Bears to 17-8 on the sea-son; and
WHEREAS, MACJC Player of the Week Rodrick Sikes made a pair of free throws to give the Bears a 75-71 advantage with 1:50 on the clock, but back-to-back baskets knotted the games at 75-75 with 0:58 left. In overtime, the Bobcats’ layup cut the Bears’ lead to 81-78 who scored seven straight and took an 88-78 on a pair of Sikes’ free throws. Johnson and Sikes then combined to hit three of four free throws for the Bears to extend their lead to 91-80 with 0:36 left; and
WHEREAS, “What else can I say about tonight?,” a jubilant Head Coach Thomas Gray said. “This was an unbelievable experience that as a Coach I was extremely blessed to be a part of. I could not be happier for a group of guys as I am this group. It’s amazing how different guys have stepped up at different times through-out the games, and I think that kind of balance and awareness are what makes the team great.” Giving credit to his Assistant Coaches, Gray said, “I am privileged to work alongside two of the best Coaches you can find Andy Farrell and Mike DuBose”; and
WHEREAS, for his performance in the Bears’ run to the MACJC State Championship freshman guard Rodrick Sikes was named the MACJC men’s basketball Player of the Week. In the Bears’ tournament-opener against Northwest, Sikes (6’1, 170-Ocean Springs-St. Martin High School) played 32 minutes. He was 9-13 from the field and 9-12 from the free throw line and finished the game with 27 points. In the Championship game, a 94-83 overtime win over Jones County, Sikes again played 32 minutes. He was 6-9 from the field and 17-22 from the free-throw line for a total of 31 points. He also recorded six rebounds and four assists. Sikes is the third member of the Bears’ squad to receive the League’s Player of the Week Award during the 2015-2016 season. Teammates Lafayette Rutledge and Terrell Miller also captured the honor. Sikes will now automatically be nominated for the National Player of the Week Award; and
WHEREAS, the 2015-2016 Southwest Mississippi Community College “Bears” Basketball Team Roster is: Terrell Miller, James Hawthorne, Lafayette Rutledge, LeDerrius Simmons, Chris Mcintosh, Joseph Coleman, Guy Johnson, Mario Doyle, Sean Smith, Emanuel Thompson, Ben Howze, Bryce Baker and Rodrick Sikes; Head Coach, Thomas Gray; Andy Farrell, Assistant Coach; and Michael DuBose, Volunteer Assistant; and
WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we recognize a group of student athletes who have brought honor to their college, their community and to the State of Mississippi:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do herby commend and congratulate the Southwest Mississippi Community College “Bears” Basketball Team and Head Coach Thomas Gray for winning its first State Championship in 53 years and recognizing freshman guard Rodrick Sikes as MACJC “Player of the Week,” and extend the best wishes of the Legislature to the players, coach-es, administration, fans, familicoach-es, and sponsors for this achievement and for future success.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Coach Gray and Rodrick Sikes for the team, forwarded to the Board of Trustees of Southwest Mississippi Community College, and made avail-able to the Capitol Press Corps.
ADOPTED BY THE SENATE March 10, 2016
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR TATE REEVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE ADOPTED BY THE HOUSE OF PREPRESENTATIVES
March 15, 2016 PHILIP GUNN
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SENATOR TAMMY WITHER-SPOON, DISTRICT 38
Men’s
Basketball team:
SENATE
4
March 31 , 2016
News
Heroes save lives by giving
Loran Gerald: HRD Professional
Achieves training and
Development Certification
By Christian Green, staff writer
The Southwest Mississippi Community College chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, Omicron Delta, travels to Starkville, Mississippi, to attend the Spring Regional Conference at Mississippi State University. In Starkville, the PTK officers attend many general ses-sions and even get a chance to hear from Mississippi State President Mark Keenum and First Lady Rhonda Keenum. The officers meet with transfer recruiters from across the state and even attend an ice cream social. The highlight of the entire trip is the awards ceremony. SMCC’s PTK chapter is desig-nated a Five-Star Chapter, which is the highest recognition a chap-ter can receive, as well as Most Improved Chapter in the Mississippi-Louisiana Region, 1st Place in Honors in Action Theme 5 “Celestial Frontiers,” 3rd Place for the College Project “Fit in ’15,” and 8th place for the Most Distinguished Chapter. Congratulations to the Phi Theta Kappa officer team and members who work all year long to make this year a successful one. The next stop for PTK officers is Washington, D.C., for Nerd Nation 2016. Adivors are Susan Hedges, Lea Touchstone, and James Stephens.
Carpentry students work hard
By Christian Green, staff writer
Four officers of Southwest’s Phi Beta Lambda Chapter travel to the Mississippi University for Women for the Mississippi Phi Beta Lambda State Competition. Seth Nieman, Mohammad Mohammad, Neil Chadala, and Christian Green compete in a plethora of events and prove to be successful in each event. Seth Nieman places 2nd in Contemporary Sports Issues and Sports Management and Marketing. Mohammad Mohammad places 2nd in Entrepreneurial Concepts and 3rd in International Business. Neil Chadala places 4th in Computer Applications and Administrative Technology. Christian Green ranks 3rd in Statistical Analysis and 4th in Microeconomics.
Each student places in both of his events, and they are all quali-fied to compete at the National Phi Beta Lambda Competition in Atlanta, Georgia, this summer. Advisors are Dr. Kim Tynes, Amber Lirette, and Brian Miller.
Joe Cornacchione, Residential Carpentry Technology instructor, demonstrates the correct way to use the builders level/transit to Tyjuan Chatman,Taralah Sutton, Raymond Dennis, Charles Rollins, Darnell Amon. photo by Joyce Mabry
Tips for
touring a
college or
university
By Ashley S. Prejean, co-editor
During this school year, I have the privilege and the pleasure of touring many colleges and uni-versities available in both Mississippi and Louisiana. On these visits, I participated in a variety of campus tours, ranging from non-traditional and person-al tours to group tours. From each of these tours, I obtained valuable information.
However, a few tours took me completely by surprise. When I first toured Mississippi College, I attended with an older friend who is considered non-tradition-al, and we only receive the most basic of information, and a quick tour of strictly her major. I rescheduled for a second visit for a regular transfer student, and the amount of information I received is incredible. It is like experienc-ing the college for the first time, and it just blows my mind. Students need to be aware of this when they begin touring colleges and finding out where they want to transfer. It is important to make sure you take a tour that is relevant to you and tailored to your needs. If you major in Physics, you do not need an in-depth tour designed for a theater major; it does not make sense.
My tour of Southeastern Louisiana University was a group tour. I enjoy this type of tour because the opportunity for more information is available. Say there is a student in the group who asks a question you never considered; you benefit from knowing the answer.
An important tidbit to remem-ber with group tours is to prepare your questions beforehand, and make sure to bring a pen and paper to write down notes. One drawback you run into with group tours is you may be in a group where no one says a word or asks a single question.
Do not be afraid to ask ques-tions. This tour is about you and where you want to spend your money to further your education. You need to be able to make the most informed decision, and in order to do that, you need to make sure you have covered all of the bases.
Touring a college is a great experience, and you get a much better feel of the campus and proximal area. This is a great time to learn the lay of the land and become familiar with where certain classes are held. A tour is the perfect time for you to find all of the ins and outs of a college. Usually, you find the most infor-mation from a student, who will give you a more relatable point of view. So be sure to take advan-tage of college tours; they are free and usually include a t-shirt.
Touring
Southern
By Ashley S. Prejean co-editor
Just a short drive east to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, lies the beautiful campus of The University of Southern Mississippi. This proud school is home to many notable alumni, and it is a major contender for many Southwest Mississippi Community College students who are interested in continuing their education at a four-year uni-versity. With its close proximity to the McComb and Summit areas, many students already know of someone who has attended or is currently attending the university. What could be better than sharing the experi-ence of furthering your education with the close friends you have made here and the ones who have already moved on to USM? This institution is an ideal choice for many students, and it also offers a second location on the Mississippi Gulf Coast for those who feel the call of the ocean.
Southern Miss offers many opportunities to its students. The college offers more than 140 undergraduate degrees, ranging from art and theater to math and physics, and it boasts more than 200 master’s and doctorate degrees in areas like Polymer Science and Communications. With such a variety of degrees offered, it is no wonder the stu-dent body is so diverse. Nearly 15,000 students attend, with stu-dents from 47 different states and over 70 different countries com-prising the university’s popula-tion. Southern also participates in study abroad programs. What could be more enriching than spending a semester abroad in another country while immersing yourself in the rich culture and gaining experiences that last a lifetime? With so many students, one assumes the student-to-teacher ratio is extremely high, but contrarily, it is 17:1. That is a very good statistic, proving that instructors have ample opportu-nities to know all of the students individually. There is so much offered at Southern that it is easy to see why it is an ideal choice. An added bonus is the fact that this is a very affordable school to attend, with the cost of tuition being less than $4,000 per semes-ter!
Students desire the full experi-ence of college, and Southern delivers. There are about sixteen different sports programs avail-able for students to either partici-pate in or attend to show their Eagle pride. Like many public universities, Greek life is a major draw for students, and Southern has a great many different chap-ters available to rush. The cam-pus has “gone green” to help save the Earth and offers many ways, including a gym, for students to become and stay fit during their time at Southern. There are so many more opportunities for stu-dents to completely immerse themselves into campus life; all they have to do is grab the oppor-tunity and take it.
Spencer Bonds and Danelle Dunnaway work deligently to make the Blood Drive a success. photo by Joyce
Loran Gerald of Southwest Mississippi Community College in Summit, MS, has completed the requirements for becoming a certified training professional through The University of Southern Mississippi Workplace Learning and Performance Institute’s Training & Development Certificate Program.
National and local chapters of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) develop, validate, and
manage the T&D Certificate Program. The content of the pro-gram is based on ASTD research that identifies 35 areas of compe-tency for human resource devel-opment professionals.
Benefits of the program include: the exposure to new ways of delivering and develop-ing traindevelop-ing, the exploration of new models for creating and delivering content through tech-nology, the opportunity to net-work with other training profes-sionals, and the chance to update
skills and knowledge of the train-ing industry. In addition, the Training & Development Certificate Program is a Microsoft-authorized “Train the Trainer” course, which is a requirement for Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) status.
To attain certification, a partic-ipant must attend four three-day sessions over a four-month period and complete out-of-class learn-ing activities. The 12-day pro-gram allows for immediate trans-fer of knowledge to the trainer’s
job roles and daily tasks. Employees representing more than 50 corporations from 10 states have completed the pro-gram.
Dr. Heather Annulis, Associate Professor of Workforce Training and Development at The University of Southern Mississippi, serves as the coordi-nation director for the Training & Development Certificate Program. For further information, visit www.usm.edu/wlpi/tdcert or call 228-214-3517.
Loran Gerald displays her certification.
PBL
students
win
awards
5
March 31, 2016
Sports
By Michael D. Gunnell Southwest Sports Information Director
February 20, 2016
The Bears split a doubleheader with visiting the Arkansas Baptist College Buffaloes Saturday after-noon, taking the opener 18-2 before falling 4-1 in the nightcap. The Bears (5-1) took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first when LD Coney and Brady Anderson led off with back-to-back singles and scored on Walt Aldridge’s first-pitch, line-drive homer to left field. Aldridge later added a sin-gle.
Two walks, a hit batter and sin-gle allowed the Buffaloes (2-6) to pick up a pair of runs in the top of the second to make the score 3-2. The Bears broke the game wide open in their half of the third when they sent 14 batters to the plate and scored 10 runs to go up 13-2. Ross Buckley had a two-run homer and a two-run double in the inning. He later added another double.
Steven Williams, who had ear-lier singled in the game, contin-ued the Bears’ scoring barrage when he blasted a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth to make the score 15-2.
The Bears added their final three runs in their half of the sixth inning. Coney led off the inning with a solo homer to left field, the last of his three hits in the game (he also had a double and single). Later, a bases-loaded walk sent Jarvis Warner across the plate. With the bases still loaded, Buckley scored when Alex Smith was hit by a pitch.
Tyler Pigott pitched five innings, giving up two runs (both unearned) on two hits to record the win. He struck out three bat-ters while walking two. Kaleb Clarke had a double and single in the game.
The Bears trailed 1-0 in the nightcap before scoring their only run in the bottom of the third. Dylan Spiers doubled with one out and scored two batters later on Anderson’s base hit.
The Buffaloes added two runs in the top of the fourth and a sin-gle run in the top of the fifth in picking up the win.
Josh Merchant pitched four innings in taking the loss on the mound. He surrendered three runs, two earned, on four hits while striking out two and walk-ing two.
Coney had two hits in the game for the Bears.
February 25, 206
The Bears swept a doublehead-er from the visiting LSUA Generals JV squad Wednesday evening, taking the opener 12-1
before getting three runs in the bottom of the seventh to win the finale 5-4.
The win moved the Bears to 7-1 on the young season.
The Bears picked up an RBI single from Ross Buckley, the first of his two hits and three RBI’s in the game, and a two-RBI hit from Kaleb Clarke to take a 3-0 first-inning lead in game one. The Generals then used a double and error to make the score 3-1 in the top of the second.
A walk to Clarke and Dylan Spiers’ single to center in the bot-tom of the third increased the Bears’ lead to 4-1. They made it 6-1 in their half of the fourth when LD Coney led off with a base hit and scored three batters later on Buckley’s ground out. Brady Anderson, on base via an error, then crossed the plate fol-lowing another error.
The score went to 7-1 in the Bears’ fifth when Spiers singled with two outs and scored on Coney’s hit to left.
The Bears broke the game wide open in the sixth inning. Brady Anderson got things started with a double and when the smoke cleared, 10 Bears had come to bat and five runners had crossed the plate for a 12-1 lead and the final score.
Jacob Buchanan went the dis-tance on the mound to get the win for the Bears. He surrendered a run on four hits while striking out four. Walt Aldridge had two hits in the game.
The Bears trailed 4-0 in the nightcap before getting on the board in the bottom of the second when Alex Smith reached base on a two-out walk and scored on an error to make it 4-1.
Jarvis Warner led off the Bears’ second with a double and later scored on Anderson’s sacrifice fly to make the score 4-2.
The Generals’ lead held up until the Bears pulled out the win with a wild bottom of the seventh. With one out, Warner and Aldridge both reached base on a walk. A two-out error resulted in Clarke reaching base and sent Warner and courtesy runner John Marcus McDowell (on base for Aldridge) racing home to tie the game at 4-4. After an intentional walk to Anderson, another error then allowed Clarke to race across the plate for the winning run.
Braden Smith pitched one inning in relief, walking one, to pick up the win for the Bears. Starter Carr Young went four innings, giving up four runs on five hits and a walk while striking out nine. Brady Wilson struck out one in his one inning on the mound.
Looking at the Bears’ game two win, head coach Ken Jackson said, “I thought out pitching kept us in the ball game. We didn’t swing the bats very well and they (the pitchers) gave us a chance to
win.”
Overall, Jackson said “Our pitching did very well. Jacob Buchanan pitched very well (in) the first game and of course Carr Young, Brady Wilson and Braden Smith pitched very well the sec-ond game.”
February 27, 2016
The Bears moved to 9-1 on the season Saturday afternoon with an 11-4, 9-4 doubleheader sweep of the visiting Lincoln Trail Statesmen.
The Bears took a 2-0 first-inning win in the opener. LD Coney led off the frame with a walk and later scored on a passed ball. Ross Buckley followed that with a single to score Jarvis Warner.
Ten batters went to the plate for the Bears (9-1) in their half of the second resulting in six more runs and an 8-0 lead. Dylan Spiers drove in two runs with a base hit to left followed by Coney’s RBI triple to left center (Coney later added a single). Brady Anderson, Kaleb Clarke and Steven Williams each had an RBI single. The score went to 10-0 in the Bears’ third when Spiers led off with a hit and later scored on an error. Buckley drove in another run with his second hit of the game.
A walk and two-run homer gave the Statesmen their first two runs of the game in the top of the fourth. They would add two addi-tional runs on two singles and a double in the top of the fifth.
The final run of the game came in the bottom of the fifth when Anderson led off with a single and later scored on Clarke’s base hit.
Tyler Pigott went five innings on the mound to record the win for the Bears. The freshman left-hander surrendered four runs on four hits. He struck out four bat-ters and issued two bases on balls. Walt Aldridge had a pair of hits in the game and Zach Giacona added a double.
In the nightcap, the teams were scoreless until the bottom of the fourth when the Bears plated four runs. With the bases loaded, Coney reached base on an error allowing (on base with a walk) and Anderson (on base with a base hit) to score. Warner then followed with a two-RBI base hit , the first of his three in the game. Two hits, a walk and a sacrifice fly led to the Statesmen’s only runs in the top of the sixth, clos-ing the gap to 4-2.
The Bears sealed the deal with five runs in their half of the sixth to reach the 9-2 final. Williams drove in a pair with a double (he had earlier tripled in the game) and Darian Tunstall had an RBI single. A fielder’s choice and error allowed the other two runs to cross the plate.
Blake Johnson worked five innings on the mound to get the win for the Bears. He allowed a
pair of runs on only three hits. He struck out five while also walking five.
Coney had a double and single in the game.
“I thought we hit the ball really well today,” said Bears’ head coach Ken Jackson. “I thought we had some timely hits. If we keep swinging the bats like we’re doing right now, we could be a pretty good ball club.”
“The batters really swung well,” Jackson repeated, “(and) the pitchers pitched well and gave us a chance to win. We were able to take advantage of some oppor-tunities and score some runs.”
After taking a couple of days off, the Bears return to the dia-mond Tuesday in Wesson when they take on arch-rival Co-Lin in a single nine-inning affair set for a 5:00 first pitch. The game will serve as round one of the Coca-Cola Baseball Challenge present-ed by Powerade.
March 5, 2016
The Bears split a doubleheader with Delgado in New Orleans Friday evening, winning the opener 2-0 before falling 5-2 in the nightcap. The split left the Bears with a 10-3 record while Delgado moved to 11-5.
Game one was scoreless until the top of the fifth inning when the Bears plated both their runs. Tanner Whittington led off the frame with a double to right field, his second hit of the game. He then moved to third on a Brady Anderson single before a Dylan Spiers line-drive base hit to left field sent both home.
Tyler Pigott pitched five score-less innings to get the win for the Bears. He surrendered five hits while striking out two and walk-ing two. Spiers struck out three batters and gave up a hit in two innings in recording the save. L. D. Coney had a pair of hits for the Bears.
The Bears trailed 5-0 in the finale before picking up their only runs in their half of the fifth inning. Coney singled and Anderson doubled (his second hit of the game) with two outs and scored on Darian Tunstall’s base hit, his second of the game, to right field.
Blake Johnson took the loss with 3.1 innings on the mound. He allowed four runs, two earned, on three hits. He struck out two and walked two.
Kaleb Clarke had a double in the game while Spiers also hit safely.
“I thought we responded very well today (coming off last Wednesday’s loss) against a very quality ball club,” said Bears’ head coach Ken Jackson. “We just have to get consistent. I thought we were a little flat in game two, but I thought our pitching kept us in the ballgame. I thought Blake Johnson threw well (and) out bullpen pitched well.”
Jackson also commended
Pigott for his performance in game one and said the split was a good way “to finish up our non-league games as we’re going into spring break and getting ready for East Mississippi next Saturday.”
March 17, 2016
Dylan Spiers’ two-out base hit scoring Steven Williams gave the Bears a thrilling 6-5, 11-inning win at home over arch-rival Co-Lin in game one of their double-header Wednesday afternoon. Co-Lin then stifled a seventh-inning comeback attempt by the Bears in the finale to get a 3-1 win and a split in the MACJC conference –opener for both teams.
The split left the Bears at 11-4 overall and 1-1 in the conference while Co-Lin moved to 5-10 and 1-1. The split of games two and three of the Coca-Cola Baseball Challenge also allowed Co-Lin to retain possession of the Challenge trophy for another year.
The Bears took a 2-0 lead in the third inning of game one when Spiers, on base via a field-er’s choice, and L. D. Coney, on base with a single, scored on Brady Anderson’s line-drive dou-ble to right field.
Co-Lin answered with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth to tie the game at 2-2. A base hit, walk and hit batter in the top of the fifth then resulted in two more runs and a 4-2 lead for the visi-tors.
The Bears made it 4-3 in their half of the fifth when Zach Giacona reached base on a lead-off error and scored two batters later on Coney’s ground out. The scored went to 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth when a Williams two-out base hit scored Jarvis Warner.
Using a walk, sacrifice bunt and base hit, Co-Lin took a 5-4 lead in the top of the ninth. In the bottom of the frame, a Spiers’ sacrifice bunt moved Warner from first to second (Warner was on as pinch runner for Duncan Cornfoot who had singled with one out). Warner then scored the tying run on Coney’s third hit of the game, a two-out base single to center.
In the bottom of the 11th, Williams led off with a double. Moving to third on a Tanner Whittington sacrifice bunt, Williams then raced across the plate with the winning run on Spiers’ base hit.
In addition to driving in the winning run, Spiers also picked up the win on the mound in relief. Pitching three innings, he allowed only one hit while striking out four and issuing one walk. Ross Buckley had a double in the game for the Bears.
Two singles led to a 1-0 Co-Lin lead in the top of the second inning in the nightcap. Single runs in the top of of the third and fourth innings increased their lead to 3-0.
The Bears’ offense came to life
in the bottom of the sixth when Anderson led off with a triple to the wall in centerfield. Buckley’s ground ball single up the middle then sent Anderson home to make the score 3-1.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Bears loaded the bases with two outs when Coney doubled and Anderson and Walt Aldridge were both hit by a pitch. But, it was not to be as Co-Lin induced a game-ending ground out to get the win.
Blake Johnson took the loss on the mound, giving up three runs, two earned, on seven hits. He walked two batters. Kaleb Clarke singled twice for the Bears while Darian Tunstall had a double. Spiers also hit safely.
At the end of the night, Bears’ head coach Ken Jackson said, “In game one, I thought we had some (key) hits at the very end with runners in scoring position. In game two, we just left people in scoring position and you have to give the (starting) pitcher from Co-Lin (Miles Thomas) a lot of credit. He kept us off balance most of the game. We finally got to him late and we had chances to win the ball game, but we just didn’t execute.”
March 22, 2016
Brady Anderson’s first career home run, a two-out grand slam over the left field fence, proved to be all the Bears would need as they defeated the home standing Jones County Bobcats 4-1 Tuesday in game two of their MACJC doubleheader. The win gave the Bears a split in the twin bill as the Bobcats won the open-er 6-1. The split moved the Bears to 13-6 on the season and 3-3 in the MACJC. The Bobcats moved to 22-2 and 5-1.Anderson’s blast came on a 1-0 count in the top of the second inning. On base at the time were Darian Tunstall and Zach Giacona, who had both sin-gled, and L. D. Coney, on base via a walk.
Braden Smith pitched four innings, surrendering an unearned run on five hits and a walk, in picking up the win for the Bears. Kaleb Clarke earned the save with three innings of two-hit ball. He struck out five batters while issuing one base on balls. Coney had two singles in the game while Duncan Cornfoot had a double.
The Bears trailed 3-0 in the opener before making it 3-1 in the top of the fourth inning when a single by Ross Buckley allowed Jarvis Warner to score from sec-ond base. The Bobcats would go on to add solo runs in their half of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Jacob Buchanan surrendered six runs, three earned, on eight hits and four walks in six innings on the mound to take the loss for the Bears. Williams had a double in the game.
Bears’ baseball team beats Jones County
Lady Bears’ softball team beats Pearl River
February 11, 2016
First inning homers in the nightcap from Jessie Penton and Austin Pruitt propelled the Lady Bears to a 7-2 win over visiting Baton Rouge Community College and a split in their Wednesday doubleheader. Baton Rouge took the opener, 6-3.
The Lady Bears return to the diamond this afternoon with a scheduled 1:00 home double-header against Mississippi Delta.
The Lady Bears (3-3) got game two off to an explosive start Wednesday when leadoff hitter Penton smashed the first pitch she saw over the fence in left field in the bottom of the first. Later in the frame, with Jenna Duff and Jeney Hudson on base, Pruitt launched a 2-1 pitch over the fence in right to put the Lady Bears on top 4-0.
The score went to 6-0 in the bottom of the second when a Pruitt double scored Duff and Kristie Sanchez. The Lady Bears then made it 7-0 on Jana McEwen’s RBI single, her second hit of the game, in the bottom of the fifth.
Baton Rouge (1-7) used an error and two base hits to score their only runs of the game in their half of the sixth inning.
Macy Fulton went the distance in the circle to pick up the win for the Lady Bears. She surrendered two unearned runs on five hits while striking out two and walk-ing one. Hudson had two base
hits in the game.
The Lady Bears trailed 5-0 before getting on the board in the bottom of the first in game one. Duff, on base via a Baton Rouge error, scored on an Emily Tuminello base hit to center.
The score went to 5-2 in the bottom of the second when Jordan Fitzgerald was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. She later scored on a foul ball out.
A double and single resulted in Baton Rouge’s final run of the day, making the score 6-2, in the top of the fourth. The Lady Bears then added their final run of the game in the bottom of the fifth on Fitzgerald’s RBI single.
Gianca Holmes spent less than an inning in the circle in taking the loss for the Lady Bears. She allowed five runs, four earned, on five hits while walking two.
Kayla Sanchez doubled and singled in the game while Rebecca Davis also had a double.
March 1, 2016
The Lady Bears dropped their first two conference games of the season Monday night in Wesson as host Co-Lin won 5-1 and 14-6. The second game ended after six innings.
Two singles and an error allowed Co-Lin (9-3, 2-0) to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth in game one. The Lady Bears then tied it at 1-1 when Macy Fulton belted a 1-0 pitch over the fence in left field.
A three-run homer by Kaitlyn
Taylor gave Co-Lin a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning and they added their final run of the game in their half of the sixth.
Fulton took the loss in the cir-cle for the Lady Bears (7-9, 0-2). She surrendered five runs, four earned, on eight hits while strik-ing out two and walkstrik-ing two.
The Lady Bears trailed 2-0 in the finale before getting on the board in the top of the second. Jordan Fitzgerald was hit by a pitch to start the frame. She then moved to third on Jeney Hudson’s double and both scored on Kelcey Bremenkcamp’s two-out double to centerfield.
Co-Lin added four runs in the bottom of the second and four more in the bottom of the fourth to increase their lead to 10-2.
Singles from Fulton and McKenzie Brock and an Austin Pruitt double aided the Lady Bears in scoring three runs in the top of the fifth and narrow their deficit to 10-5. Brock added another single in the game and Pruitt also singled.
Using a double and single, Co-Lin scored another run in the bot-tom of the fifth to make the score 11-5.
The Lady Bears picked up their final run of the game in the top of the sixth when Bremenkamp sin-gled and scored on Penton’s sacri-fice fly. Co-Lin then closed the game out with three runs in the bottom of the inning.
Rebecca Davis pitched 2.1
innings in taking the loss in the circle. She gave up six runs on seven hits while issuing three bases on balls. Jenna Duff had a double for the Lady Bears.
March 5, 2016
The Lady Bears split an MACJC conference doublehead-er in Goodman Friday aftdoublehead-ernoon, defeating the host Holmes Lady Bulldogs 6-4 in game one before falling 3-2 in the finale.
The split moved the Lady Bears to 8-10 overall and 1-3 in the MACJC while Holmes stands at 6-8-1, 1-3.
The Lady Bears took a 1-0, first-inning lead in the opener when McKenzie Brock reached base on a leadoff walk and scored two batters later on Jenna Duff’s hit to centerfield, the first of her two in the game.
The score went to 2-0 in the top of the second when Kelcey Bremenkamp led off with a walk and later scored. Blair Little’s solo home run in the bottom of the frame brought Holmes to within a run, 2-1.
A three-run top of the fifth extended the Lady Bears’ lead to 5-1. Brock led off the inning with her second hit of the game. Austin Pruitt followed with a walk and both scored on Macy Fulton’s line-drive homer over the center-field fence.
Holmes closed the gap to 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth on Darrien Dykes’ three-run homer.
The scoring came to an end in
the top of the seventh when Pruitt picked up her second hit of the game, a leadoff solo homer.
Rebecca Davis picked up the win in the circle, allowing a pair of runs on five hits. She struck out three and walked three. Fulton allowed a pair of runs on two hits and a walk.
The Lady Bears went on top 1-0 in the second inning of the nightcap when Bremenkamp reached base on a two-out single and scored on an error.
Brock got the Lady Bears’ fifth started with a base hit. She later scored on another error to put the Lady Bears on top 2-0.
A pair of hits and an error allowed Holmes to score the win-ning runs in the bottom of the sixth. Pruitt reached base on the last of her three hits in the top of the seventh, but the Lady Bears were unable to drive her home and Holmes held on for the win.
Fulton took the loss in the cir-cle, giving up all three runs (two earned) on four hits. She struck out two.
March 17, 2016
Getting timely hits and a pair of excellent pitching performanc-es in both gamperformanc-es, the Lady Bears picked up two big wins Wednesday afternoon with a 2-1 and 1-0 MACJC conference sweep of the visiting Pearl River Lady Wildcats. Game two went eight innings.
With the wins, the Lady Bears moved to 10-12 overall and 3-5 in
the conference. Pearl River dropped to 13-10, 3-5.
A single, double and fielder’s choice gave Pearl River their only run of the day, and a 1-0 lead, in the top of the fourth in the open-er.
The Lady Bears’ runs came in the bottom of the sixth when McKenzie Brock singled to right with one out, moved to third on Austin Pruitt’s second single of the game and scored on Emily Tuminello’s base hit. Pruitt, on third following Tuminello’s hit, scored on a play at the plate fol-lowing a fly ball out in foul terri-tory.
Pearl River put a runner on base in the top of the seventh, but was unable to produce a run as the Lady Bears held on for the win.
Macy Fulton went the distance in the circle to get the win for the Lady Bears. She surrendered an unearned run on five hits while striking out three.
Runs proved even harder to come by in the finale. The teams combined to put at least one run-ner on base in five of the seven innings of regulation and Pearl River had a runner on the top of the eighth, but neither team could get the needed hit to produce a run.
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March 31, 2016
News
By Christian Green, staff writer
This Spring Break I spent a few days at the Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, MS, for the Phi Beta Lambda State Competition. Being an Ole Miss Rebel, I never imagined I would be anywhere else, but I had never given much thought to other schools in our beautiful state. The W was char-tered in 1884 as the first state-supported college for women in the United States. The first edu-cation session began in October of 1885 with 341 young women embarking on their own educa-tional experiment. Four short years later, these young women received their diplomas. For almost 100 years, the school had only admitted women until the year 1982, when a male student challenged admission for men in state-funded public universities. Many of the buildings still stand-ing on the campus today survived the Civil War and were used as hospitals during that time. Eudora Welty is one of the most famous alumni of MUW, and her influence can be seen all around campus. One thing that was the most exciting was the kitchen areas they provide for students who wish to stay in a private dorm (even though I cannot cook!) The most important thing I learned at MUW that I would like to share is that MUW offers transfer students four different levels of transfer awards! The Presidential Award, which I have recently received, is for students with GPAs of 3.8-4.0 with 48 transferable hours, and it awards $5,000 over two years! Another great thing about the W is that tuition is only $2,850 a semester. The other three transfer awards are for students with GPAs of 3.0 and up. MUW also offers Phi Theta Kappa students $4,000 over two years if they have at least a 3.0 GPA and 48 transfer-able hours. The college also offers scholarships to All-USA/All-State Academic Team recipients, Alumni members, children and grandchildren, out-of-state community college stu-dents, as well as a multitude of others that stack. Everyone should at least take one trip to Columbus, explore the Riverwalk, see Tennessee Williams' birthplace, and see what they have to offer.
My
Experience
at the W
Read Across America Day
Southwest Mississippi Community College head softball Coach Shay Johnson and softball players Jordan Fitzgerald, Jeney Hudson, and McKenzie Brock, North Pike Elementary School teacher Molly Johnson, and SMCC assistant softball Coach Maggie Jackson.
By Ashley S. Prejean, co-editor
Spring is in the air and summer is quickly approaching. It is time to pack up all the jackets and gloves and break out the sun-shades and sunblock. With the upcoming season SMCC has a lot of activities in store for the students and community to be able to get outside and enjoy the sunshine and comradery.
The annual Phi Theta Kappa Color Run will be held April 18th at Southwest Mississippi Community College. The color run is a 2-mile walk or fun run that is open to students so be sure to sign up today! This is a great event that draws everyone together where everyone can enjoy great company, awesome music, and of course, fun! This year DJ Aaron and Emcee Terri are joining the party and bringing everyone rocking music. There will be special color splash zones so be prepared to be wet and col-orful. Anyone who is interested in this great event can register by March 28th for early registration for just $25 that will include indi-vidual color packet, a race bib, and a t shirt. They will also have late registration for anyone regis-tering after March 28th, and it is only $30 to register late.
Following the color run is the much anticipated Bear Necessities Day! On April 21st, Southwest will be hosting the annual Bear Necessities Day, where teams and individuals compete against each other to see who will be victorious. This event is held each year and the turnout is always amazing. It is wonderful that students can come together to compete and have such good sportsmanship whether they come in first or not. This year, teams can compete in either the team competition or they can compete in the individ-ual competitions. The team com-petitions will consist of the egg toss, relay race, dizzy izzy, three-legged race, tire push relay, and everyone’s favorite, the tug-of-war. The individual competitions will be the ½ mile run, softball throw, and the quiz bowl. There will be an event for everyone to shine in either the men’s division or the women’s division. With this being such a major competi-tion and event for the school and its students, there are rules that must be followed at all times. The teams must consist of six or seven members, with six mem-bers participating at a time, and every team must have a captain. At the end of the day, there will be a first and second place award given in each division. There are so many advantages to getting outside and tapping into your inner competitor. This is a great time to create bonds and everlast-ing friendships with your fellow students. So now is the time to start planning on getting your teams together, finding your run-ning shoes, and preparing for an amazing time and an unforget-table start to the summer.
Summer
fun on
campus
Jordan Fitzgerald, McKenzie Brock, and Jeney Hudson read to North Pike Elementary students.
SMCC assistant football Coach Donald Dykes is pictured with North Pike Elementary School literacy coach Beckie Nieman.
Kelby Bowman, Defensive Footbal Coach, listens to students comments. Cameron Achord, Assistant Football Coach, reads to students.
DeMorrius Jones, Defensive Line Football Coach, shows an illustration. Donald Sykes, Assistant Football Coach, talks to students.
By Seth Nieman, Co-Editor
On Wednesday, March 2, SMCC student athletes and coaches partic-ipated in “National Read cross America Day” at North Pike Elementary. They read several books by the famous Dr. Seuss to chil-dren throughout each grade. They informed the students of how impor-tant reading was to them, and their favorite books to read when they
were young. The goal of the national day is to encourage children to read by having every class listening to a caring community member on that day. The students of North Pike spent the week dressing up in Dr. Seuss theme, and were ecstatic to see the students of Southwest read to them! When we work together as a community to encourage our chil-dren to read, to quote Dr. Seuss, “The more you read, the more you know. The more you know, the more places you'll go.”
By Christian Green, staff writer
Phi Theta Kappa officers Christian Green, of Magnolia, and Abbey Hooks, of Summit, are honored for being elected to the USA/Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team. At the All-Mississippi Recognition Program/Luncheon in Jackson, the Community College Academic Team recognizes two-year students who demonstrate academic superiority and intel-lectual skills combined with service and leadership that enhances their training beyond the classroom. Southwest President Dr. Steve Bishop and Phi Theta Kappa Advisors Susan Hedges and Lea Touchstone attend the event with Christian Green and Abbey Hooks.
Green
and
Hooks
Named to
All-
Mississippi
Academic
Team
Bears’ baseball and Miss Mattie
By Seth Nieman, co-editor
Growing up in the Pike County area as a child, it was nearly impos-sible for anyone to not have fond memories of Miss Mattie. She has spent so much of her time dedicated to the local children by reading at the local libraries and schools. In her honor, the Southwest Bears base-ball team held “Miss Mattie Day” on Saturday, March 19th, when they faced the Holmes Bulldogs in a doubleheader. The Bears won the first game 14-13, and lost the second game 17-7.
“Miss Mattie” Rials opened the day’s festivities by addressing the crowd and announcing the Bears’ starting lineup. The crowd took much joy in watching her throw out the first pitch for the opening game alongside Bears head coach Ken Jackson.
The team wore special “Miss Mattie” jerseys for both games with a “Scooter Mouse” signature on the back. The jerseys were put up for bids in a silent auction during the games with all of the proceeds going to the Miss Mattie Foundation to fund a scholarship for needy students in the Pike, Amite, and Walthall county area to attend Southwest. Thirty-four jerseys were bid on for a roughly $700 fundraiser for the foundation. “We're very excited about hosting the 'Miss Mattie' Day. We feel like it's a way our baseball program can make people aware of the Miss Mattie Foundation and what it contributes to local students,” head coach Ken Jackson said. “It's also a way to celebrate Miss Mattie and what she has meant to so many people in this community by hav-ing her out and makhav-ing her visible to people.”
Pictured are Walt Aldridge, Miss Mattie Rials, and Steven Williams
Heroes
By Seth Nieman, co-editor
Every semester at Southwest, students and faculty participate in a blood drive to donate their blood to those in need. This spring’s Blood Drive was a huge success! In total, 178 red blood cells and two plasma were col-lected, and 73 participants were enlisted as first-time donors, a huge improvement from last year’s 2015 Spring Blood Drive where 164 red blood cells and four plasma were collected with 53 first-time donors.
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