Pearl River splits at Co-Lin

WESSON Pearl River Community College men and women basketball squads split with Copiah-Lincoln in a pair of MACJC South Division squeakers here Monday. The 11th-ranked Wildcats, the reigning state champions, took a hard-fought and low-scoring 54-53 victory over the host Wolves, while the Lady Wildcats rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit only to fall 62-60 to the seventh-ranked Lady Wolves. PRCC men improved to 16-2 overall and 6-1 in division play, while its women are now 6-9 and 3-4. CLCC men are now 7-10 and 3-5, while its women are 16-1 and 8-0. In the men game, Co-Lin kept it close for the majority of the first half, but never gained the lead. With 2:30 left before the intermission, Jake Reed hit a basket to cut Pearl River lead to 26-24, but Troy University signee Emil Jones of North Forrest High answered with a three pointer seconds later to kick off an 8-0 run to give the Wildcats a 34-24 advantage at the break. The Wolves opened the second half with an impressive 14-4 run to grab its first lead of the game at 39-38 when Marcus Hooten banged home a trey at the 14:20 mark. From that point, the lead exchanged hands four times. Phillip Crawford out of Murphy High in Mobile, Ala., put The River up for good when he hit a basket with 4:49 left to make it 49-48. CLCC Earnest Wafer sank a trey with 10 seconds left to cut the lead to 55-53 before PRCC managed to kill the clock for the win. Jones led Pearl River with 14 points, while Crawford added 13 and hauled in a team-high seven rebounds. Kentari Nettles, another Mobile recruit who prepped at LeFlore High, scored nine; Daron Bell of Bay High six, Pedro Maciel, a Centenary University transfer who prepped at St. Stanislaus in Bay St. Louis, and LeBaron McMillian of Pascagoula High, four each; and LaKendrick Maye or Prentiss High (six rebounds) and Michael Peters of East Marion High, two each. Hooted paced the Wolves with a game-high 20 points, while Wafer added 16, Antonio Holmes, T.J. Kosile, and Jake Reed, four a piece; Maurice Williams three, and Ryan McKinley two. Pearl River hit 47.8 percent (22 of 46) from the field to Co-Lin 47.9 percent (23 of 48), while the Wildcats were one of nine (11.1 percent) from three-point range to the Wolves three-of-10 (30 percent) effort. PRCC was nine of 13 (69.2 percent) at the foul line, while CLCC was four of 11 (68.8 percent). The Wolves out-rebounded the Wildcats with 33 boards to 24. Monday contest marked the second meeting of the two teams this season. On Dec. 6, Pearl River defeated Co-Lin 82-72 in overtime in Poplarville in both schools South Division openers. In the women game, Co-Lin led 35-22 at the intermission and built its lead to as much as 16 points 42-28 in the opening minutes of the second half. But the Lady Wildcats began clawing away at the Lady Wolves lead. PRCC put together an impressive 15-5 scoring surge over a six-minute span to pull to within four and stayed in striking distance for the remainder of the game. Kiare Etienne hit a three with 3:05 left to build the Lady Wolves lead to seven, but Pearl River held Co-Lin to a mere one point the rest of the way. With 11 seconds left, Kenyatta Epps of Yazoo City High was fouled on a three-point attempt and sank two of three foul shots to cut CLCC lead to 61-60. Keosha Bradley was immediately fouled after taking the inbound pass and managed one free throw with 7.8 seconds left to end the scoring. Epps led Pearl River with 14 points, while Francheska Bowman out of Choctaw High in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., added 12 (seven rebounds), Nicole Holder of Lumberton High 10 (four rebounds), Branita Malone, another Choctaw High (Fla.) recruit, nine (nine rebounds); Francheska McMahon out of Lewisburg High in Hernando five, Quentessa Bullock of East Marion High four (four rebounds), and Eugena Fry out of Wingfield High in Jackson and Toy Johnson of Pascagoula High, two each. Shandell Peters of East Marion High hauled in five boards. Etienne pace Co-Lin with a game-high 16 points, while Paige Webster added 15 (five rebounds), Brandi Simmons 10 (seven rebounds), Bradley seven (five rebounds), Sedreka Plummer five (five rebounds), Jaquandria Williams three, and Alexus Stirgus and Kristen Newsome, two each. Pearl River hit 51.2 percent (21 of 41) from the field to Co-Lin 36.2 percent (21 of 58), while the Lady Wildcats were two of seven (28.8 percent) from three-point range to the Lady Wolves seven-of-14 (50 percent) effort. PRCC was 14 of 19 (73.7 percent) at the foul line, while CLCC was 12 of 20 (60 percent). The Lady Wildcats out-rebounded the Lady Wolves with 33 boards to 30. Monday contest marked the second meeting of the two teams this season. On Dec. 6, Co-Lin defeated Pearl River 60-43 in Poplarville in both schools South Division openers. Pearl River resumes action when it travels to South Division rival Copiah-Lincoln in Wesson Monday, Jan. 31, for contests at 6 p.m. (women) and 8 p.m. (men), then returns home Thursday, Feb. 3, to host division foe Southwest Mississippi at 5 p.m. (women) and 7 p.m. (men).