River men win, women lose on road at Holmes

GOODMAN The nationally-ranked Pearl River Wildcats kept their 2010-2011 perfect basketball record intact here Thursday with a 56-49 come-from-behind MACJC non-division victory over the Holmes Bulldogs, while the Lady Wildcats suffered a 79-63 setback.PRCC men, ranked No. 12 in the NJCAA latest Division I poll, improved to 6-0 with the win; while the Bulldogs remain winless at 0-7. PRCC women, on the other hand, are now 1-3; while HCC is 4-3.In the men game, the host Bulldogs led 26-24 at the break, but the Wildcats put together 9-0 and 12-0 scoring runs in the second half to pull away for the win.Curtis Bailey led Holmes with a game-high 19 points, while Tevin Hammond was close behind with 18. Jonathan Clay scored six, Anthony Borden four, and Davion Spivey two.Phillip Crawford out of Murphy High in Mobile, Ala., paced The River with 18 points, while hauling in seven rebounds; while Emil Jones of North Forrest High added 12 and grabbed a game and season-high 12 boards. Daron Bell of Bay High and Pedro Maciel, a sophomore transfer from Centenary University (La.) who prepped at St. Stanislaus Prep, had nine points each; while Marshun McGee our of Bailey High in Jackson scored four and Vincent Gable of Picayune High and Nick Magee of East Marion High had two each.Pearl River hit 42.6 percent (20 of 47) from the field to Holmes 39.6 percent (19 of 48), while the Wildcats were two of nine (22.2 percent) from three-point range to the Bulldogs six-of-16 (37.5 percent) effort. PRCC was 14 of 16 (87.5 percent) at the foul line, while HCC was five of nine (68.4 percent).The River led the rebounding battle with 35 boards to Holmes 25.The Wildcats, the reigning MACJC state champions, took a 65-50 victory over the Bulldogs in a previous meeting played Nov. 8 in Poplarville.In the women game, the Lady Bulldogs led 35-28 at the break, then outscored the Lady Wildcats 44-35 in the second half to take the 16-point victory.Kierra Gilmore led Holmes with 19 points, while twin sister Dierra added 14, Louise Collins seven, Krishonna Chatham, Marquisha Pointer, and Tiffany Williams, six a piece; Amber Clay five, Latara Archie, Brittany Henry, Ashley Jackson, and Jacquonnna Young, three a piece; and Kierra Anderson and Kia Funchess, two each.Francheska Bowman out of Choctaw High in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., paced the Lady Wildcats with nine points (five rebounds; while Alayna Bridges of Oak Grove High scored eight, Quentessa Bullock of East Marion High and Toy Johnson of Pascagoula High, seven each; Eugena Fry out of Wingfield High in Jackson six, Francheska McMahon out of Lewisburg High in Hernando five, Charlene Green out of South Pike High in Magnolia, Branita Malone, another Choctaw High (Fla.) recruit, and Shandell Peters of East Marion High, four a piece; Kristian Lyons of Bay High three, and Stephanie Fratesi out of Washington High in Leland, Samantha Gunn out of Velma Jackson High in Canton, and Keair Watts of East Marion High, two a piece.Pearl River hit 44.6 percent (25 of 56) from the field to Holmes 45.3 percent (29 of 64), while the Lady Wildcats were one of six (16.7 percent) from three-point range to the Lady Bulldogs six-of-18 (33.3 percent) effort. PRCC was 12 of 27 (44.4 percent) at the foul line, while HCC was 15 of 21 (71.4 percent).The River women out-rebounded Holmes 35-25.The Lady Bulldogs took a 65-53 victory over the Lady Wildcats in a previous meeting played Nov. 8 in Poplarville.After a Thanksgiving holiday break, Pearl River men return to action when they host the Loyola University (La.) junior varsity squad at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 28, at St. Stanislaus College in Bay St. Louis. Both PRCC squads host Baton Rouge CC Tuesday, Nov. 30, in Poplarville with game times at 5 p.m. (women) and 7 p.m. (men).