POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The Pearl River men's basketball team wrapped up non-conference play in a big way Thursday night, demolishing visiting Delgado 89-62.

"Our starting five came out really hot," head coach Chris Oney said. "We played really well the first six or seven minutes of the game. The ball was flying around. We were moving. We looked like a team that could really go do something this year."

HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a game of runs for Pearl River (13-2 overall) against Delgado (3-14) as the Wildcats opened the night by scoring 17 of the game's first 19 points to take a big lead. The highlight play of the opening run was when Davion James (Brandon; Northwest Rankin) plucked the ball away, cruised down the court and threw a perfect lob to Dyllion Redmond (Jackson; Callaway) for a two-handed jam.

The lead swelled to 23-6 soon after as Cedquavious Hunter's (Como; North Panola) limitless range showed itself. The Cal State Bakersfield transfer dribbled onto the Wildcat side of the court, saw an opening and fired a 3-pointer from the Mississippi silhouette on the Marvin R. White Coliseum court. The shot sailed through the air and hit nothing but the net on the way down.

Tye Gholar (Jackson; Provine) pushed Pearl River ahead 33-10 with 7:30 remaining on the clock. Ezereke Dawson Jr. (Plant City, Fla.) started the play by cleaning the glass to collect an offensive rebound. He fired off to Gholar in the corner, and Gholar crushed the 3-pointer. 

Hunter contributed four more points down the stretch of the half, and Austin Green (Sicklerville, N.J.; Timber Creek Regional) brought his first-half total to 11 points, and Pearl River walked into the break ahead 45-25. 

Right out of the break, Dawson Jr. earned a trip to the free-throw line and converted both of his attempts to grow the PRCC advantage to 49-27. The points continued to pile up for Pearl River, thanks to Hunter. With 14:08 left, he caught a feed in the far corner from James and knocked down the wide-open 3-pointer. Moments later, he got fouled on a 3-point attempt but still managed to get the ball to go through the hoop. He promptly stepped to the line and knocked down the free-throw attempt. Ta'Zir Smith (Woodbridge, Va.; Virginia Academy) created Hunter's next basket by stealing it away from a Dolphin player and lobbing it down to Hunter for the layup, 63-38. 

Gholar hit twice from beyond the arc to drive PRCC's advantage to 71-50. Devin Jones (Camden; Velma Jackson) began to get involved a few possessions later, beginning with an excellent knife through the defense for a layup. A few plays later, he knocked down a 3-pointer, 82-58. 

Pearl River went on to walk away with an 89-62 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS
Hunter led Pearl River's offensive output with 20 points. He also had two rebounds, two assists and two steals. Green was second with 19 points. He also had seven rebounds and two assists. Gholar was the final Wildcat in double-figures with 13 points.

Dawson Jr. had a team-high 11 rebounds. He also scored eight points. 

COMING UP
Pearl River remains at Marvin R. White Coliseum on Monday for the MACCC opener against Coahoma. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

TUNE IN
All home Pearl River basketball games are livestreamed for free at PRCCMedia.com/Gold. Fans who have Roku, Amazon Fire or Apple TV devices can also watch the Wildcat broadcasts by downloading the "Pearl River CC" channel from their app stores.

Games will also be available over the air in Pearl River County by tuning into 1320 AM and 106.9 FM. The radio broadcast is also available at WRJWRadio.com and by downloading the WRJW app.

TICKETS
To help improve traffic flow and fan experience, PRCC athletics box offices will be cashless in 2023-24. Only credit and debit cards will be accepted at the box office. Fans are encouraged to beat the lines and purchase their tickets in advance at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets. 

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