POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The Pearl River men's basketball team opened a brand-new season Friday morning as the Wildcats took care of Baton Rouge Basketball Post-Grad with a 95-47 victory in PRCC's inaugural kids day game.
Pearl River was excited to welcome students and teachers from Poplarville Lower Elementary to the contest.
"This environment was awesome," head coach Chris Oney said. "These kids were having so much fun. I told one of the teachers that I wish we could do this every game. This is definitely something we will look to try to do every year going forward."
Oney talked about the play of his team in the game.
"I've been frustrated with our preseason because we haven't been able to do everything we want to do with all the injuries," he said. "When we get everyone healthy and can get on the same page, we could be dangerous. We have some weapons, but we have to figure out how to play with them. Hopefully, we can fine-tune things over the next couple of weeks."
Pearl River (1-0 overall) got off to a hot start against the Aces, taking a 10-4 lead almost instantly. Kedrick Osby (Moss Point) made the score 4-0 after charging in and slamming a ball home. Shortly after, Dylan Sanders (Aurora, Colo.) nailed a 3-pointer to make the score 7-4. Osby picked up his second basket by nailing a 3-pointer afterward.
Joah Chappelle (Jonesboro, Ga.; Dutchtown) took over a few minutes later, scoring six straight points for Pearl River to set the score at 16-8.
By the time the six-minute mark was reached in the first half, the Aces were trailing by just four points at 25-21. That's when a 13-point run began. Issace Grady Jr. (Columbus; New Hope) dropped a floater through the rim off an Osby assist. Grady Jr. turned provider on the next play, bouncing a pass inside to Chappelle for a big-time slam. Zahir Gutierrez (Olive Branch) helped PRCC pick up its next four points with his defensive play. The freshman poked a ball away that Sanders collected. He went right to the basket and slammed it home. On the next play, Gutierrez plucked the ball away and went coast-to-coast for a layup. Before the run ended, Chappelle nailed another jumper, Gutierrez collected a layup and Sanders hit another 3-pointer, making the score 40-21 PRCC. The Wildcats went into the break ahead 42-24.
The Wildcats really started to pull away in the second half. Krystian Lewis (Monroe, La.; Wossman) scored the first points of the half with a driving layup, and Sanders followed with a 3-pointer, 47-24.
The lead soon grew to 33 points at 70-37 when Lewis hit from beyond the arc off a dish from Chappelle. The lead continued to grow as the game pushed along, and PRCC eventually walked away with a 95-47 victory.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Sanders led all scorers in the game with 23 points on 9 of 18 shooting. He also had four rebounds and two assists. Chappelle was second on the team with 21 points, finishing 9-for-13 from the floor. He had a game-high eight points and tacked on five assists.
Lewis was held scoreless in the first half but rattled off 16 points in the second half to finish as PRCC's third-leading scorer. He was 5-for-10 from the floor, adding eight assists and five rebounds. Osby was the final Wildcat in double figures, collecting 14 points. He had seven rebounds and five assists in the game.
NEXT UP
Pearl River returns to action next Friday for the All-State Invitational, hosting Chattahoochee Valley at 7 p.m.
TICKETS
Basketball season tickets are available now for $86, granting access to all home regular-season games. Single-game tickets are $8 in advance and $10 on the day of the game. Tickets can be purchased at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets.
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.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).