The Mission Bears always seem to get a firm test when they travel to Lowell, and Wednesday was no exception.
Cal Ladine scored 24 points, including 16 in the first half as the Cardinals took a 30-17 lead into the break, but Mission overcame a nightmarish second quarter for a 46th straight league win, escaping with a 50-49 victory.
After getting outscored 19-5 in the second, the Bears were forced to play catch-up throughout the second half, but finally drew even in the final minutes and took the lead for good on a steal and layup by Marcelo Solis with 1:07 left. Sophomore Maurice Oliver made a pair of free throws after Ladine made just one of two, and all Lowell (12-5, 2-2 AAA) could muster in the final moments was an uncontested putback of Ladine's contested 3-pointer.
Matt Cohn led Mission (8-9, 4-0) with 16 points, eight rebounds and five steals while Andre Villarino scored 10. Solis and Noah Lee each added eight, while Rishi Raghavan finished with 10 for the Cardinals.
Mission's next major test comes next Wednesday at home against Lincoln, but the Bears have two more league games before then, facing Galileo on the road Friday and hosting Academy on Tuesday.
