TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Kelan Rich scored 18 in the first half against Shelton State, but Pearl River men's basketball ultimately dropped the road game 75-61.
"I thought we played really well for 20 minutes," Chris Oney said. "In the first 20 minutes of the game, I thought we executed on offense and defense. But to beat a good team in their own gym, you have to play for more than 20 minutes. You have to be able to put together a 40-minute game, and that's something we've got to get better at on the road before conference play."
Pearl River (6-5 overall) and Shelton State (10-2) opened the game at a slow pace, combining for just 12 points in the first eight minutes. The Wildcats held an early 8-4 lead before Shelton State caught fire, putting together an 8-0 run to go ahead 12-8.
The two teams continued to trade punches until Rich (Pascagoula) hit the first of his four 3-pointers, tying the game at 16-16 off a Christian Gilliland (Memphis, Tenn.; ABC Prep)assist. Rich stayed hot from deep, knocking down another to pull the Wildcats within 23-21, then tying the game at 27, and finally giving Pearl River a 30-27 advantage. Powered by a game-leading 18 points from Rich, the Wildcats would go into halftime knotted at 32 with the Bucs.
Shelton State came out strong in the second half, opening on a 17-4 run before Gilliland answered with four straight points on two free throws and a layup. Jayden Sampson (Cleveland; Cleveland Central) added two free throws to bring the score to 51-41. The Bucs responded with another surge, scoring 11 unanswered to build their largest lead of the night at 64-43.
Despite trailing by 21, Pearl River refused to fold. The Wildcats strung together a 12-2 run to cut the deficit to 66-55, powered by eight points from Daijon Leatherman (Slidell, La.; Legacy School of Sport and Sciences) — six at the free-throw line and one layup. Lazarus Mason (Atlanta, Ga; Grayson) followed with a layup to bring Pearl River within 10 at 67-57. Shelton State, however, closed the game with an 8-4 stretch to secure the 75-61 win.
LEADING THE WAY
Rich was the leader in four different areas for the Wildcats, scoring 22 points, ten rebounds, three assists and four steals. He scored 18 of his 22 points in the first half.
"Kelan was really good. It was probably the best performance of his young career, but that's the performance we expected from him when we recruited him," Oney said.
Gilliland was the next highest scorer for Pearl River, putting up 17 points while bringing in three rebounds and earning three assists. Daijon Leatherman was right behind him, scoring 14 points while having seven rebounds and a block.
NEXT UP
The Wildcats are back in action Saturday as they host the Southern University-Shreveport Jaguars at 2 p.m.
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