POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The Pearl River men's basketball team had a nine-game winning streak against its rival Jones College snapped Thursday night, falling on the road against the Bobcats 67-58.
Pearl River (19-8 overall; 6-6 MACCC) was hot from beyond the arc to begin the night. Ta'Zir Smith (Woodbridge, Va.; Virginia Academy) got the barrage started when good ball movement found him all alone on the right wing, and he mashed a 3-pointer. The Bobcats (22-6; 9-3) briefly retook the lead before the long ball struck again for the Wildcats off the smooth shooting stroke of Tye Gholar (Jackson; Provine), 8-7. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Smith followed and helped the lead stretch to seven points, 14-7.
PRCC maintained its lead for a while, even pushing ahead 18-10 on back-to-back layups from Dorien Goodman (Dallas, Texas; Lancaster) and Cedquavious Hunter (Como; North Panola). Unfortunately for the Wildcats, JC didn't let the deficit bother them, fighting back to move ahead 27-19.
Just before the first half ended, Ezereke Dawson Jr. (Plant City, Fla.) grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to send PRCC into the break trailing 32-27.
Hunter used a screen to perfection early in the second half, dashing around his teammate and nailing a high-arching jumper, 34-31.
Smith did all he could to try to will the Wildcats back down the stretch of the game, continuously knocking down big shots and having success from the free-throw line. However, his efforts weren't enough as the Bobcats walked away with a 10-point, 67-58 victory.
LEADING THE WAY
Smith finished with a team-high 22 points. He brought in eight rebounds, two assists and two steals. Dawson Jr. ended his night with an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double.
NEXT UP
Pearl River returns to Marvin R. White Coliseum for the last time on Monday, taking on Mississippi Delta at 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.
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