GOODMAN, Miss. — Powered by a remarkable career-high 35-point performance from Dylan Brumfield (Oak Grove), the No. 10 Pearl River men's basketball team bounced back to defeat Southern Arkansas Tech 75-57.

"We had Jakari (Livingston) and Carlous (Williams) out today with injuries," head coach Chris Oney said. "I challenged Dylan today in film to really step up. He's usually such an unselfish player, so I challenged him to be a little bit more aggressive with scoring the ball. He exceeded my expectations and I am extremely happy for him. I think he deserved to have a night like this."

Oney talked about his team's overall performance.

"I was happy with today's performance. Even though Dylan and Ayub (Nurhussein) did a lot of the scoring, we really did a lot by committee, too," he said. "Our defense was as solid as it's been throughout the early part of the season. Our ball movement was crisp, and the guys weren't timid on offense."

Southern Arkansas Tech (3-4 overall) and Pearl River (6-2) were locked in a tightly contested battle throughout the first half of the day with the Wildcats taking a slim 35-28 lead into the break.

PRCC came out of the midway point on a mission and a pair of big second-half performances from Brumfield and Ayub Nurhussein (Hamilton, Ontario.; Toronto Basketball Academy) pushed the Wildcats to an 18-point 75-57 victory.

Oney mentioned what the difference between the two halves was for the Wildcats.

"Southern Arkansas made a lot of tough shots in the first half and that kind of slowed down for them in the second half," he said. "We were able to get out in transition and put pressure on them on the defensive end. We played really good defense in the first half, but they were just knocking down a ton of tough shots."

LEADING THE WAY
Brumfield's 35-point outburst was the best performance of his career in the maroon-and-gold.

Nurhussein was second on the team in points, finishing with 19 points. Jermahri Hill (Bessemer, Ala.; Berkmar) added 11 points on the afternoon.

"Ayub was really good offensively, too," Oney said. "He tried just as hard on defense and that's what we need from him moving forward. We still need these kinds of aggressive performances when some of our guys come back healthy."

NEXT UP
PRCC returns to the court on Dec. 1 for a road game against Baton Rouge. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on Twitter (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).