POPLARVILLE, Miss. — With its leading scorer back in the fold, the Pearl River men's basketball team snapped a three-game skid Tuesday night inside Marvin R. White Coliseum, defeating Copiah-Lincoln, 74-54.
After missing the last two games due to a concussion, Austin Green (Sicklerville, N.J.; Timber Creek Regional) returned to the court and scored 17 points while helping three other Wildcats reach double figures.
"Austin just breathes life into our team," head coach Chris Oney said. "He opens up so much stuff because you have to get inside and help defend him. You can't let him play one-on-one. I think that's why you saw so many different people get involved in scoring tonight."
GAME RECAP
The night started out slowly for the Wildcats (19-5 overall; 6-3 MACCC) as they trailed early on against Copiah-Lincoln (12-9; 4-5). PRCC finally started getting things going with just under 16 minutes left to play as Green knocked down a layup to give PRCC its second lead of the night — a lead it never lost.
Pearl River's lead grew to eight points with 12:49 left in the first half as Cedquavious Hunter (Como; North Panola) struck from deep twice. By the time the 10-minute mark hit in the first half, the Wildcats held on to a 24-17 advantage.
Ta'Zir Smith (Woodbridge, Va.; Virginia Academy) got the Wildcat crowd on its feet with a stellar 3-point play soon after. The sophomore drove the length of the court, slashed inside and knocked down a layup through a hard foul. He walked right to the free-throw line and drained his shot, 29-20.
A steal by Smith created some offense a while later as Dorien Goodman (Dallas, Texas; Lancaster) found a bit of space and nailed a 3-pointer, 37-21. Pearl River kept its foot on the gas throughout the remainder of the first half and headed into the break ahead 49-28.
PRCC moved ahead 53-38 with 12:54 left in the game with a perfect trip to the line for Green and added one more basket before the 10-minute mark on a Hunter 3-pointer.
The Wildcats continued to push on and eventually led 67-51 on a pair of Goodman free throws and eventually went on to take the game 74-54.
BY THE NUMBERS
Smith finished with a game-high 18 points. He hauled in nine rebounds and two assists.
Hunter finished with 17 points and three rebounds. Green also had 17 points and added seven rebounds. Goodman picked up 12 points, dished out five assists and grabbed four boards.
NEXT UP
Pearl River hits the road on Thursday to take on East Mississippi at 7:30 p.m. The game will be livestreamed at EMCCLive.com.
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