POPLARVILLE, Miss. — A stellar defensive effort combined with four double-digit scorers was the recipe for success Wednesday night for the Pearl River men's basketball team as the Wildcats defeated Southwest Tennessee 68-61.
PRCC held the Saluqis well under their 104.5-point average in their first two games of the year.
"I decided I can't just sit back and let teams do what they want," head coach Chris Oney said. "We have to pick up the pace. I thought that got us going and got our motor going. Things were going on offense and we managed to stay out of foul trouble. That helped us get the win tonight."
Pearl River (3-2 overall) and Southwest Tennessee (2-1) were in a defensive battle to open the night as eight minutes into the contest, a combined 14 points had been scored, 7-7.
The teams tied two more times at 12-12 and 16-16 before Pearl River started to separate itself a little.
Joah Chappelle (Atlanta, Ga.; Dutchtown) stole the ball away around the opponent's 3-point line and coasted down the court for a layup. Zahir Gutierrez (Olive Branch) then came up big for the Wildcats two times in a row. The first time he found himself wide-open in the corner, caught a pass from Dylan Sanders (Aurora, Colo) and drilled a 3-pointer. After the Wildcats created a turnover on the defensive side, Gutierrez hit nothing but net on his next 3-pointer to put PRCC ahead 24-16.
Sanders made it a nine-point advantage with just under four minutes remaining. The sophomore caught a pass on the left wing. The Saluqis weren't respecting his long-range ability, so he popped a 3-pointer, 27-18.
With a minute remaining in the opening half, Chappelle drove inside and nailed a mid-range jumper to extend the lead. It was rinse and repeat on the following possession as he made an identical play, and PRCC led 33-23. The Wildcats eventually carried a 33-25 lead into halftime.
When the second half began, Southwest Tennessee wasn't ready to give up, pulling within three at 40-37. Two big offensive plays by PRCC pushed the Wildcats ahead 44-37. Gutierrez moved into the paint, jumped and threw a pass down low to Jayden Sampson (Cleveland; Cleveland Central) for a layup. One play later, Sanders stole the ball away and lobbed it down the court for Krystian Lewis (Monroe, La.; Wossman) to finish off with a slam.
Pearl River took its largest lead of the night with four minutes remaining. Chappelle was fed the ball with his back to the basket. He made a quick spin move around his defender and scored a layup, 58-44.
The Saluqis made a late surge to get back into the contest, but the Wildcats did more than enough to win 68-61.
BY THE NUMBERS
PRCC had four players reach the double-digit mark in the contest. Lewis and Sanders led the efforts with 15 points apiece. Kedrick Osby (Moss Point) finished with 13 points after being held scoreless at halftime. Chappelle finished with 12 points.
Chappelle grabbed seven boards, and Sanders finished with six. Sanders also earned six steals in the contest.
NEXT UP
The Wildcats will have a few days to rest before hitting the road to take on rival Gulf Coast in a non-conference game on Tuesday. Tipoff in Perkinston is at 7 p.m., and the game will be livestreamed at MGCCCAthletics.com/watch.
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