SEARK basketball sees men’s win, women’s loss

If the first Region 2 game for Southeast Arkansas College men’s basketball was another test, the Sharks passed with flying colors.

Four Sharks scored in double figures Monday night in a 74-59 win over the University of Arkansas Cossatot at H.O. Clemmons Arena. Derek Magwood scored 16 points and totaled three rebounds, and Tobias Prall sank four 3-point buckets on his way to 14 points in the win.

“It’s exciting,” said Magwood, the sophomore swingman from Jonesboro, Ga. “Just glad to be on the court and getting a chance to play in front of a lot of people.”

“He’s 6’8″ and can score on three different levels,” said Sharks Coach Chad Kline. “That’s why I felt OK at halftime. He had two quick fouls, so he didn’t play a whole lot. We went into the second half thinking he was going to play a whole 20 minutes. He doesn’t always take the best shots, but golly, it seems like when he makes them, they’re big shots.”

The first season on the court has been relatively smooth sailing for SEARK (7-1, 1-0 Region 2), which is playing its home games at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff arena. The Sharks hardly showed any rust from a nine-day layoff due to the Thanksgiving break and took a 32-26 lead at halftime against the Colts (2-8, 0-1).

Freshman Torrey Caswell came off the bench to score 11 points and pull down four rebounds for SEARK. Jehu Wright scored 10 points after shooting 0 for 3 from the floor in a starting role.

SEARK made 9 of 20 3-point attempts and 24 of 38 overall from the floor. The Sharks converted 12 of 18 free throws.

Grant Jessen led UA-Cossatot with 19 points. Max Postiglione had 12 in the loss.

The Colts went 15 for 45 from 2-point range and 6 for 13 from behind the arc. They made just 9 of 19 free throws.

“They didn’t shoot it very well in the first half, and I was just waiting for them to get it going,” Kline said. “When they did, it was a game. We’ve got to do a better job keeping them in front of us, and we’ve got to do a better job with defensive rebounding.”

SEARK led 19-9 early before UA-Cossatot rattled off 13 unanswered points for its lone lead. SEARK had gone 8 minutes without a field goal before Caswell broke that drought on a jumper, igniting a 10-0 run for the halftime lead.

SEARK also scored 10 unanswered points in the final 4:51 to wrap up the victory.

The Sharks will resume Region 2 action Thursday at Arkansas State University-Newport. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

WOMEN: UA-Cossatot 69, SEARK 63

Alexandria Jefferson resumed her 3-point barrage in the fourth quarter, canning four straight attempts to help the Colts (5-3, 1-0 Region 2) build a double-digit lead and hang on for a region victory over the Sharks (4-3, 0-1).

Jefferson, a Tyler (Texas) Junior College transfer, made seven treys as part of her 28 points, seven steals and six rebounds. She was also 5 for 5 in free throws.

She had her reason for putting the Colts on her back down the stretch.

“Um, a little bit after I got chewed out,” she said, asked if that was her plan for the fourth quarter.

Why was it, exactly, Jefferson’s coach chewed her out? “I was talking back,” she responded.

Her game spoke louder and was a big reason the Colts made 12 treys for the game. Alexis Hernandez, who finished with 18 points, accounted for four 3-pointers.

Coriana Fulbright, the Colts’ 6-foot-2 reigning Region 2 Player of the Week, totaled 11 points, 14 rebounds and three steals.

UA-Cossatot made 11 of 14 free throws, most of them in the third quarter while forcing SEARK into the penalty early. SEARK converted 12 of 17, with San Diego’s Amethyst Price (16 points) making 4 of 4 and Star City’s Sarajane Linsy (11 points) converting 4 of 5.

SEARK trailed 34-27 at the half and was down by as much as 47-35 before going on a 3-point run of its own to pull within 49-44 at the end of the third quarter. The Sharks made only two 3-pointers for the game.

“Their zone hurt us a lot, and I think we struggled against it,” said SEARK Coach Sam Waniewski. “I think we were rusty shooting the ball. Thanksgiving break got us a little bit, but no excuses. We didn’t rebound. They shot the ball very well, and their zone really affected us for the most part of the game.”

SEARK will return to action next Monday at Clemmons Arena against North Arkansas College.