CLINTON – Pearl River Community College men's basketball coach Chris Oney probably said it best in his postgame comments Friday night.
"I told the kids, it wasn't the storybook ending we wanted, but it was still a storybook," said Oney. "I'm proud of our kids, and I'm excited about the future."
The Wildcats were hit with an early blitz by hot-shooting Holmes and never recovered in dropping the championship game of the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament 77-64 at Wood Coliseum on the Mississippi College campus.
Pearl River (23-5) still holds a slim chance of an at-large bid to the NJCAA Division I Tournament in Hutchinson, Kan., but Oney wasn't confident that a bid would be forthcoming for the Wildcats. Holmes improved to 24-4 and will head to Kansas as region champs.
The Bulldogs opened the game on a 15-2 run and while the Wildcats got back in the game, especially in the second half, they could only cut the deficit to five, and each time Holmes had an answer.
"They came out with more energy than we did," said freshman Eric Thornton Jr. (Jackson). "We didn't play with the energy we needed at the start."
The Bulldogs shot the lights out throughout the game, but especially in the first 15 minutes of play, converting 15 of their first 22 shots from the field.
Holmes shot 54.8 percent in the first half (17 of 31), were 15 of 25 (60.0 percent) in the second half and were 57.1 percent (32 of 56) for the game.
"I think they had an advantage having played us in the state tournament last week," Oney said of Pearl River's 69-67 overtime win in the MACJC State Tournament semifinals. "They were able to make some adjustments to slow us down."
PRCC got back in the game in the last five minutes of the first half, and trailed 43-35 at halftime. The Wildcats cut the deficit to six twice in the second half, then freshman Jonas James III (Jackson) nailed a 3-point shot to cut Holmes' lead to 60-55.
However, the Bulldogs went on an 11-2 run to put the game out of reach.
"Coach Oney wanted me to be aggressive (in the second half), and I thought I did," said James, who led the Wildcats with 22 points and 5 assists. "We just fell short at the end."
Thornton added 14 points and freshman Cedric Brim Jr. finished with 11 points for the Wildcats.
As disappointing as the loss was, there was plenty of optimism in the Wildcat locker room after the game, as they return three of the five starters from Friday's game, along with James, who was effective coming off the bench in the latter part of the season.
"I'm going to work on getting a little bigger and stronger (in the offseason)," said Thornton. "And I want to improve my shooting, especially from the outside.
"I think we're going to be much better next year."
NJCAA Region 23 Tournament
At Wood Coliseum, Clinton
MEN
Tuesday's Games
Quarterfinals
Southwest 70, Northwest 68
Holmes 74, Copiah-Lincoln 60
Northeast 75, Baton Rouge 59
Pearl River 66, Gulf Coast 57
Thursday's Games
Semifinals
Holmes 89, Southwest 74
Pearl River 86, Northeast 79
Friday's Game
Championship
Holmes 77, Pearl River 64
Pearl River freshman Jonas James III stands at the foul line preparing to shoot a free throw Friday night against Holmes in the men's championship game of the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament at Clinton.
PRCC BASKETBALL SUMMARY
MEN
NJCAA Region 23 Tournament
Championship
Friday at Clinton
Holmes 77, Pearl River 64
Holmes 43 34 – 77
Pearl River 35 29 – 64
HOLMES (24-4): Stanley Williams 17 (7 assists), Trey Spencer 7, Mikel Norment 2, Jonah Simpson 2, Kassim Nicholson 14, Kortez Wade 9, Javon Franklin 18 (7 rebounds), Justin Johnson 8.
PEARL RIVER (23-5): Jonas James III 22 (5 assists), Cedric Brim Jr. 11, Rodney Mallett 5, Eric Thornton Jr. 14, Brandon Cranford 2, Cameron Douglas 2, Ray Anderson 2, Kirk Parker 4 (6 rebounds), Jartavius Dobbs 2.