POPLARVILLE, Miss. — No. 2 Pearl River has had a storybook season but as Coach Chris Oney likes to say, there are still plenty of pages that need to be written.
The Wildcats will have another opportunity to add to their page-turner this week with the Region XXIII Tournament, hosted by Mississippi College in Clinton.
As the top seed, Pearl River (25-0 overall) will open the three-day tournament against eight-seed Southern-Shreveport (16-7) at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
"We're not done yet. We're still playing for this team's legacy," Oney said. "This is when the book turns into a fairy tale or heartache.
"We have to be ready to complete the book the way we want it to read."
Although Tae Hardy (Ellenwood, Ga.; Believe Prep), Isaih Moore (Columbia, S.C.; Sumter) and Rodgerick Brown (Memphis, Tenn.; Cordova) are leading PRCC in the scorebook most nights, Oney said it's the team's three returners from last year's Region XXIII Tournament championship team that will be looked to this week. Just like during last week's successful run through the MACJC Tournament, Cameron Smith (Okolona), Kelvin Allen (Olive Branch) and Ahmad Arrington (Collins; Biloxi) have all been through the fire and it's their job as the upperclassmen to relay their experiences to the others.
"We wouldn't have made it out of the last tournament without the play of the returners. Cam had good moments, Kelvin played important minutes and I don't know that we beat Jones without Ahmad," Oney said. "Tae, Isaih and Rod have all been on big stages before, too, just not this stage.
"The holdovers know exactly what to expect and I expect them to lead these guys."
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Heading into this week's tournament, Hardy, Moore and Brown lead PRCC in scoring, averaging 17, 16.2 and 12.7 points per game. Allen and Smith are close behind, averaging 8.7 and 8 ppg.
Moore leads PRCC's rebounding efforts, averaging 9.2 per contest. Brown and Smith average 6.8 and 6.5. Hardy leads PRCC in assists, averaging 3.8 per contest.
As a team, Pearl River still boasts one of the top scoring defenses in the nation, holding opponents to 60.7 ppg.
ABOUT SUSLA
SUSLA enters the tournament with a 16-7 record after having won six of its last seven contests.
The Jaguars average 77.8 points per game and are shooting 43.1 percent from the floor. The Jags are also averaging 47 rebounds per contest.
Three SUSLA players are scoring in double figures, led by Latreavin Black, who's scoring at a 14.1 clip. Christavious Thomas and Desmond Vaughn are averaging 12 and 11.4 ppg.
Although PRCC's regular season game against SUSLA was canceled due to facility issues with the Jaguars, Southern-Shreveport did play a number of other MACJC teams, going 1-2 against Southwest, Northeast and Gulf Coast.
"They're playing for a coach who's been around the region for a long time and knows what it takes to be successful in this tournament," Oney said. "They're tough and play with an edge and a don't quit attitude.
"It's going to be a challenge that we're going to have to be ready for."
TOURNAMENT BRACKET
Three-seed LSU-Eunice will play six-seed Jones College at 1 p.m., followed by two-seed Northeast playing seven-seed Northwest at 3 p.m. Four-seed East Mississippi and five-seed Hinds play at five.
The winner of PRCC-SUSLA plays the winner of EMCC-HCC at 3 p.m. Thursday.
The Region XXIII Tournament Championship Game is set for 7 p.m. Friday.
HOW TO TUNE IN
All Region XXIII games will be broadcast on PRCCAthletics.com and PRCCMedia.com. Anyone who has an Amazon Fire or Roku device can stream PRCC broadcasts by downloading the "Pearl River CC" Channel from the app store. The games can also be heard on WRJW 1320 AM, WRJWRadio.com or by downloading the WRJW app.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on Twitter (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).