Bulldogs win season opener over Co-Lin, 65-52

WESSON --- The Holmes Community College Bulldogs put two players --- Kaleb Higgins and Josiah Lewis ---- in double figures in the season opener here Monday night at Copiah-Lincoln defeating the Wolves, 65-52.

Holmes is on the road at Southern Arkansas University Tech on Thursday at 7 p.m.

The Bulldogs jumped out early in the contest and held a 10-3 lead with 15:22 left in the first half. A Higgins three-point gave Holmes a 22-17 lead with 4:58 left in the first half. Co-Lin battled back and took a 27-24 lead with a minute to play.

Freshman forward David Brown of Jackson scored five points in the last minute of the half to put Holmes up 29-27 at halftime. Brown hit two bucket and made a free throw.

The Wolves led by one point at 39-38 with 14:41 left to play before the Bulldogs retook the lead with 12 minutes to play.  The lead stretched to 48-41 when Lewis scored for the Bulldogs with 10:17 left. Holmes led 57-49 with 2:45 left in the game.

Higgins, a freshman guard from Pine Bluff, Ark., scored 23 points while Lewis, a sophomore guard from Grenada had 14 points. Freshman forward Amadou Traore from Harlem, N.Y. led the Bulldogs in rebounds with eight.

As a team, the Bulldogs shot 44.6 percent from the floor and 65 from the free throw line. Co-Lin shot 29.2 percent and 61.1 percent from the three-point line.