POPLARVILLE, Miss. — It came down to the final possession for the No. 15 Pearl River men's basketball team Thursday night, but the Wildcats got it done, defeating Bossier Parish 67-66 in a back-and-forth battle.
"I saw a lot of things improve that we addressed after the last game," head coach Chris Oney said. "We got a lot of things corrected. We only had 14 turnovers tonight instead of 30. I thought from the first two games to this one that we had a lot of growth."
GAME RECAP
Bossier Parish (1-2 overall) went on an early run to take a 14-7 lead with 12:53 left in the first half before the Wildcats (2-1) began to claw their way back into the contest. David Combest Jr. (Hattiesburg; Forrest County) knocked down a shot inside the paint, and Austin Green (Sicklerville, N.J.; Timber Creek Regional) put home back-to-back layups, 14-13.
Cedquavious Hunter (Como; North Panola) caught fire from beyond the arc moments later. His first 3-pointer of the night gave Pearl River its first lead of the game with 10:36 remaining, 19-16. A putback and a second-chance basket by Green made the score 23-19, and Hunter followed with his second 3-pointer of the night, 26-19.
The Cavaliers didn't go away despite the deficit and fought back to square up the game at 27 apiece with 6:10 left in the first half. Dorien Goodman (Dallas, Texas; Lancaster) had a perfect trip to the free-throw line to give PRCC the lead right back, 29-27.
Late in the first half, Bossier Parish slashed home a 3-pointer to tie up the contest at 33-33, and at the 1:12 mark, BPCC took a 35-33 lead, which it held onto heading into the midway point.
Right as the second half began, BPCC increased its advantage to 37-33. The Wildcats fought right back as Combest Jr. drove into the lane and dished a no-look pass to Dyllion Redmond (Jackson; Callaway). Redmond caught the pass and laid a ball softly off the glass and through the net.
The back-and-forth battle really began then. Goodman briefly gave PRCC the lead when he stepped inside and knocked down an off-balance pullup jumper, 38-37.
BPCC snatched the advantage right back and led 46-42 just a few minutes later. Ezereke Dawson Jr. (Plant City, Fla.) got the Wildcat faithful on its feet with a pair of slams in the following plays. The first saw him snatch an offense rebound and throw down a ferocious two-handed slam. The second came when he mashed home a dunk on the fastbreak despite being fouled. The baskets cut the PRCC deficit to 49-46.
Pearl River battled back to take a 52-51 lead following back-to-back Hunter 3-pointers — the first of which he knocked down in the corner with a hand in his face.
The Cavaliers and Wildcats continued to trade points down the stretch, and Bossier Parish held on to a 64-61 advantage with 2:33 left in the game. That's when the Green takeover began. The 6-foot-8 forward cut the deficit to one point by driving into the lane and laying it off the backboard for a basket. The sophomore mimicked the prior basket almost exactly on the very next possession to give PRCC a 65-64 advantage.
On the ensuing inbound play, BPCC drove right down the court and picked up a basket with nine seconds remaining in the game. Needing someone to step up in the big moment, Pearl River got the ball right back in the hands of Green. He had the ball at the top of the key, made a move inside and was fouled while going up for the basket. The New Jersey native had ice in his veins as he stepped to the charity stripe and promptly knocked down both of his free throws to give Pearl River a 67-66 lead.
Bossier Parish attempted a prayer shot in the dying seconds of the contest, but it smacked off the backboard and fell to the ground for a Wildcat victory.
BY NUMBERS
Green was electric for the Wildcats, scoring 25 points on 8-for-14 shooting. He was nearly perfect from the free-throw line, going 9-for-10.
"I'm happy for Austin," Oney said. "I've been on him and Cedquavious the last couple of days. Both of them had really good games, and I was proud of their effort."
Hunter was 8-for-17 from the field and 6-for-9 from beyond the arc to finish with 24 points on the night.
"I'm happy everyone else got a chance to see it tonight," Oney said. "That's what he has done the entire preseason. The first two games, I don't know who that was. I think he had a lot of things on his mind. Tonight, he let it flow. I was happy, and I know he was happy to see those shots go in."
Green was one rebound shy of a double-double as he hauled in nine. Dawson Jr. was second on the team with five rebounds.
UP NEXT
Pearl River hits the road for the first time this season on Monday as the Wildcats head to Baton Rouge for a 6 p.m. tipoff against the Bears.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).