By By BRUCE HIXON Sports Editor
With their heater on their bus out of order, it made for a chilly ride from Brewton to Andalusia for the Jefferson Davis Community College Warhawks Saturday.
Perhaps that is why it took a while for the Warhawks' offense to thaw out. By the time it did, the host LB Wallace Saints were well on the way to a 94-78 victory.
JDCC (3-7) was unable to overcome a first half where it shot 34 percent, committed 10 turnovers and fell behind 41-28.
Then again slow starts have been nothing new for the Warhawks this season. JDCC has averaged 30 points in the first half and 51 points in the second half this season.
"Maybe this time we can blame it on the heater, but for whatever reason we have had a tough time getting started in the first half," JDCC coach Allen Gainer said.
Saturday's game did feature some positives. The Warhawks got a season high 25 points from freshman Norvell "Junior" Coleman. They shot better from the free throw line (21-for-29, which included 10-for-11 in the second half) and they held LB Wallace's top three scorers, Antonio Webb, Darius Howard and Curtis Boyette, to a modest 32 points.
"We did do a good job against their top scorers, but our problem is we let some of their other players step up with career nights. Our shot selection wasn't what it needed to be because we took way too many three-point attempts. We also missed a lot of shots inside," Gainer said.
Although the first half ended on a down note for the Warhawks, it did not begin that way.
Thanks largely to a pair of field goals and a free throw by Coleman and John Madison's three-pointer, JDCC had an 11-8 lead six minutes into the contest.
The next 10 minutes may have been the decisive stretch of the game. During that time JDCC made just one field goal, as LB Wallace (6-5) went on a 22-6 run to move ahead 30-17.
Dominque Powell, who led LB Wallace with 24 points for the game, was a big thorn in JDCC's side during that time with a pair of buckets, a three-pointer and two free throws.
While the Warhawks' shooting drought came to an end late in the first half thanks to a pair of hoops and two free throws by Greg Dicksinson, JDCC was still down the 13-point margin of 41-28 at half-time.
The Warhawks looked like a completely different team in the opening moments of the second half.
A pair of three-pointers by Dickinson and another trey by Kenny Thompson plus two field goals by Coleman fueled a 16-9 run that sliced LB Wallace's advantage to just 50-44 four minutes into the second half.
What momentum JDCC built during that time melted over the next couple of minutes. Three-pointers by Howard and Webb followed by another bucket by Howard quickly swelled the Saints' cushion up to 58-44.
LB Wallace maintainted a double digit lead the rest of the way. That lead reached a game high bulge of 90-71 with a minute to go.
The Warhawks host Bevill Fayette Friday at 7 p.m.
At LB Wallace
JDCC 28 50 – 78
LB Wallace 41 53 – 94
JDCC (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Coleman 8-0-9-25; Dickinson 4-3-4-21; Foster 2-0-5-9; Montgomery 2-0-2-6; Madison 0-2-0-6; Thompson 1-1-0-5; Burno 0-1-1-4; Drakeford 1-0-0-2 (Totals: 18-7-21-78)
LB WALLACE (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Powell 8-1-5-24; Dorsey 8-0-5-21; Howard 3-3-0-15; Boyette 4-0-4-12; Ogletree 0-3-0-9; Hunter 3-0-0-6; Webb 1-1-0-5; Taylor 1-0-0-2 (Totals: 28-8-14-94)