POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The Pearl River men's basketball team had to survive a haymaker Monday night at Copiah-Lincoln but recovered well from a 17-2 Wolves run to walk away with its 11th straight and 20th overall, 79-70.
The Wildcats remain atop the MACCC standings as the only undefeated team.
"I don't think we came out flat in the second half. I think they made some adjustments," head coach Chris Oney said. "They came out with a strategy that worked early. The thing I was most proud of was that when I called those two early timeouts, I didn't see panic or anyone worried in the huddle. It was just a matter of getting them focused and organized.
"I thought we made championship plays late. This bunch is resilient. They have a belief in each other, and they have a belief in the hard work they put in. I tell them all the time it's a 40-minute game. We really played for the full 40 minutes."
The Wildcats (20-3 overall; 9-0 MACCC) began the night on a 7-0 run against Copiah-Lincoln (9-11; 1-7). Jamarion Smith (Magnolia; South Pike) scored the first two baskets of the night against his former team, cutting in from the outside for the first basket and then turning a Krystian Lewis (Monroe, La.; Wossman) steal into points. Dylan Sanders (Aurora, Colo.) picked up his first 3-pointer of the half to close out the early swing.
The Wildcat advantage grew to as much as nine at 15-6. The scoreline got to that point on a basket by Jayden Sampson (Cleveland; Cleveland Central), who banked it off the glass for the score.
Pearl River found itself ahead by 10 points, 28-18, with 7:28 remaining — thanks in part to hot shooting from Sanders. The guard drained a wide-open 3-pointer from the left corner and followed with his fourth long ball of the night from the right wing.
Copiah-Lincoln surged back into the contest, though, pulling within two, 30-28. Pearl River responded by rattling off 11 consecutive points. Joah Chappelle (Atlanta, Ga.; Dutchtown) fired down the lane and scored the first basket of the run before Lewis effectively used a screen to get open for a pull-up jumper. Zahir Gutierrez (Olive Branch) added a 3-pointer to the run before perfect trips to the free-throw line by Lewis and Gutierrez capped the swing, 41-28.
The teams traded points before the buzzer sounded, and the Wildcats led 43-31 after 20 minutes.
Pearl River was in some trouble when the second half began as Copiah-Lincoln embarked on an impressive 17-2 run to take its first lead of the night, 48-45. The Wildcats moved back in front as Lewis nailed a baseline jumper and followed it by hitting a straightaway 3-pointer, 50-48 PRCC.
The Wolves responded by squaring the game up and then taking what was their last lead of the night, 52-50. Sanders' fifth 3-pointer of the night pushed PRCC back ahead 55-52, and that was all the momentum the Wildcats needed. Every Copiah-Lincoln basket was matched or one-upped by the Wildcats on their way to a 79-70 victory.
BY THE NUMBERS
Osby led the Wildcat attack with 21 points. He hauled in six rebounds and two steals. He was a blistering 11-for-12 from the free-throw line.
"I've said it all year. I don't know how he does it, but he gets it done," Oney said. "When I saw the stat sheet, I was amazed. He's been around basketball his entire life, with his dad being a coach. He found his spots, and we wouldn't have got out with a win without him."
Sanders was second on the team with 17 points, burying five 3-pointers along the way. He also had three rebounds and two steals.
"Dylan has been huge lately," Oney said. "His last game at Odessa was in Hutchinson, where we are trying to go. He's been in big moments and big games, so we expect him to show up in moments like these."
Chappelle rounded out those in double figures with 15 points. He also had six rebounds and five assists.
"Krystian took what the defense gave him," Oney said. "Krystian played a really good floor game. A couple of plays he made sparked us once they took the lead."
NEXT UP
The Wildcats are back in action Thursday as East Mississippi comes to Marvin R. White Coliseum for a 7:30 p.m. contest.
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).