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*LC-M vs. Nederland/LC-M WINS 63-59/COMMENTS*


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Bears nab must-win against Nederland

Van Wade

The Orange Leader

LITTLE CYPRESS — Facing a must-win situation, the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Bears played with tremendous will and determination at The Bear Cave Tuesday night against the Nederland Bulldogs.

The Bears dominated the boards, played tight defense and made all the key plays when they needed them as they went on to post a vital 63-59 District 22-4A victory.

The Bears (18-10, 4-6) gained control of the battle with a 16-6 run in the second quarter and withstood several late runs by the Bulldogs (15-13, 5-5) to hang on for the win.

LC-M finds itself just one game back of Nederland, Vidor (9-13, 5-5), and Dayton, which are all tied for third. Vidor was stunned by Port Neches-Groves 77-59 Tuesday. The Dayton Broncos (8-12, 5-5) also are in the mix after they stunned second-place Beaumont Central (17-10, 8-2) 71-64.

“Many people thought we were down and out, but we’re far from it,†said LC-M coach Darin Harley. We have some terrific seniors on this team and they’re not going to go down without a fight. They showed such tremendous energy all night long. They needed to take care of business tonight and they did just that. I’m so proud of them.â€

C.J. Champine had a superb overall outing for the Bears as he notched a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. He also got it done on the defensive end with five steals.

LC-M was balanced across the board with Champine getting plenty of help.

Dallas Bean contributed 13 points and nine rebounds. Kevin Cooper pumped in 14 points and grabbed seven boards while David Sicktich tallied 12 points and seven rebounds.

LC-M dominated the glass, outrebounding Nederland 38-25.

“The kids set the tone early with their all-out hustle,†said Harley. “The big key was the way they were able to control the boards. We got a lot of second chances.â€

The Bears led by as much as 51-39 with 5:05 left in the game but the Bulldogs wouldn’t go away, using the hot hand of sharpshooter Evan Fitch, who scored all 16 of his points, including hitting four three-pointers, in the fourth period. A Fitch trey got the Bulldogs to within 59-56 with less than 20 seconds remaining but Bean responded with a late bucket and a free throw to preserve the win.

Nederland hit three three-pointers to grab a 17-14 edge at the end of the first period. Champine and Cooper scored five points apiece to keep the Bears close. However, the Bears’ intensity rose up, especially on the defensive end in the second period.

Champine hit for five points in the quarter. Bean tallied four points and Justin Kinsley, who came off the bench to score seven points, hit a big trifecta and the Bears forced Nederland into six of their 14 turnovers to go up 30-23 at the half.

The Bears utilized the toughness of Sicktich down low to hold off the Bulldogs in the third. Sicktich bruised his way to eight of points in the quarter and also set the tone with tremendous defense.

“David Sicktich was a beast tonight,†said Harley. “We’ve been looking for that low post presence and he gave that to us tonight. Not only did he score some critical baskets and rebounded well, he was able to alter a lot of shots on the defensive end.â€

LC-M took the Bulldogs’ best shot in the final eight minutes. The Bears survived a rocky fourth period from the free-throw line as they went just 3-of-12 and finished just 9-of-21.

The Bears held Nederland’s leading scorer on the season Chris Hammond to only 14 points. Hammond did lead the Bulldogs with nine rebounds., Guard Francis Torres finished with 11 points while post Dionte Forney had five rebounds.

The Bears committed just 12 turnovers while Nederland went 9-of-11 from the free-throw line.

The Bears head to Lumberton Friday for another crucial tilt.

“It’s another must-win for us, heck, all of them are,†said Harley. “We’ve yet to win a district game on the road this season and it has to be on Friday night or we’ll be in trouble.â€

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Guest whatdoIknow

Great game by the bears...hopefully this win will help my pirates who lost a disappointer last night.  no way the indians should of won that game. 

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