Pearl River boasts four on MACJC All-South list

POPLARVILLE Four Pearl River Community College stand outs earned All-MACJC post-season basketball honors with two members of the men team copping All-South Division first-team honors and two women named to the All-South second-team. Sophomore Grambling State (La.) transfers Yondarius Johnson and Zane Knowles were cited with men honors, while sophomore Toy Johnson and freshman Shanta Echols copped women honors. Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound guard from Plain Dealing, La., and Knowles, a 6-foot-9, 235-pound center from Nassau, Bahamas; played key roles in the Wildcats 15-12 season, which ended in the Region 23 Tournament semi-finals with a 65-52 loss to eventual champ East Mississippi. PRCC men, which upset then-10th-ranked East Miss 66-63 in the MACJC Tournament semi-finals, were defeated by Mississippi Gulf Coast 61-56 in the state title bout. Johnson, who nailed a three pointer at the final buzzer to defeat EMCC in the state semis, averaged a team-high 14.5 point per game during the 2011-2012 season, as well as 4.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.2 steal an outing. Knowles hauled in a team-best 8.5 rebounds a game and averaged a second-best 13.3 points per outing. He also average a team-high 1.5 blocked shots per game. Echols, a 6-foot forward from Sumrall High, and Johnson, a 5-foot-6 point guard from Pascagoula High, were stalwarts on this past season Lady Wildcat squad. Echols averaged a team-high 10.9 points a game, as well as a second-best 6.3 rebounds; while Johnson averaged team-high averages in assists (6.2) and steals (2.4) per game. In addition, Johnson averaged 7.7 points and 3.9 boards per outing. PRCC women ended their season at 16-9 with a 62-48 loss to Holmes in the Region 23 Tournament quarter-finals. In the MACJC State Tournament, the Lady Wildcats were eliminated by eventual state champ Itawamba 65-61 in the semi-final round. Wildcat head coach Richard Mathis just completed his 21st season at Pearl River, while women coach Toby Bush finished his fourth.