POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The Pearl River men's basketball team used a 49-point second half to power its way past Coastal Alabama – South Tuesday night inside Marvin R. White Coliseum as the Wildcats defeated the Coyotes 93-66.
"I told them at the half that we had to get back to playing Wildcat basketball. They listened and executed much better in the second half," head coach Chris Oney said. "Now that we can give guys a breather, we can do a little bit more in transition. We did that tonight, especially in the second half.
"Our defense wasn't good in the first half. In the second half, we did a great job of limiting them and what they were trying to do against us."
Following a tightly contested first 10 minutes of the night, Pearl River (6-2 overall) started to separate itself from Coastal Alabama – South (3-3) in the first half. Krystian Lewis (Monroe, La.; Wossman) started an eight-point swing after Issace Grady Jr. (Columbus; New Hope) pulled down an offensive rebound and dished it to Lewis for a 3-pointer. On the following possession, the two players switched roles as Lewis zipped a pass inside the paint to Grady Jr. for a basket. Sanders capped the 8-0 run by draining a pull-up jumper to push PRCC ahead by 12 points, 30-18.
The first-half advantage grew to as many as 14 with 5:58 left in the half as Zahir Gutierrez (Olive Branch) drilled an off-balance 3-pointer from the corner, 35-21. Despite the Wildcats having a solid advantage, the Coyotes did not give in, fighting all the way back to take a 41-40 lead with just under a minute left.
Dylan Sanders (Aurora, Colo.) propelled the Wildcats back in front by driving inside for a layup. He then turned defense into offense, stealing it away and pushing it up the court for Lewis. The freshman corralled the pass, dashed into the paint and threw down a dunk, sending PRCC into the break ahead 44-41.
When the second half began, Coastal Alabama – South tied things up at 46-46 before taking their second lead of the night at 48-47. That's when a massive 15-0 run busted things open for Pearl River. Joah Chappelle (Atlanta, Ga.; Dutchtown) sandwiched four points between two free throws by Lewis for the first six points. Kedrick Osby (Moss Point) then caught a pass on the run, dribbled once at the 3-point line and euro-stepped his way into the lane for a layup. Two free throws from Jayden Sampson (Cleveland; Cleveland Central) and five more points from Osby gave PRCC a 14-point, 62-48 lead with 12:31 remaining in the contest.
Pearl River's lead grew to 16 points at 73-57 with 8:15 remaining. The advantage grew by way of a 7-0 run — highlighted by Lewis unleashing a nasty spin move to get into the paint for a layup.
Holding on to an 82-64 lead, PRCC rattled off 11 consecutive points to take an incredible 29-point lead, 93-63. The 11-0 run was led by 3-pointers from Sanders, Stevent Watkins Jr. (Ridgeland) and Mason Lewis (Stockbridge, Ga.; Woodland).
CAS scored once more before the night ended, but Pearl River grabbed a crushing 93-66 victory.
BY THE NUMBERS
Osby led the way for the Wildcats, scoring 25 points on 10-for-15 shooting. He also had seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
"He had 25? Wow," Oney said. "That's the Kedrick that we need if we want to be successful."
Chappelle was second with 24 points on 10-for-17 shooting. He hauled in eight boards and earned five assists.
Krystian Lewis was third on the team with 14 points. He also had seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. Sanders rounded out those with double-digit points with 13, nine of which came from beyond the arc.
Sampson hauled in seven big rebounds and chipped in six points.
NEXT UP
The Wildcats return to action next Tuesday with a 6 p.m. game against William Carey JV.
TICKETS
Basketball season tickets are available 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 with 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).