PERKINSTON, Miss. — Showdowns between Pearl River and Gulf Coast rarely follow a script, and Monday night was no different as the Wildcats erased an early deficit to storm back and beat the Bulldogs 79-70 in the regular-season finale.
"We're not afraid of any matchup. We've talked about those tough moments throughout the year. We still had some tough moments that we have to learn from and build on. We have to try to win four more in a row."
Pearl River now returns home Thursday for the first round of the Region 23 Tournament. Information will be made available soon regarding, tipoff time and opponent.
Gulf Coast (23-6 overall; 10-4 MACCC) stormed out of the gates, rattling off nine consecutive points to start the regular-season finale against Pearl River (17-12; 9-5). The Wildcats dug deep and clawed their way back, eventually knotting the score at 20-20 behind a surge from Kamarian Mayfield (Waynesboro; Quitman) and Christian Gilliland (Memphis, Tenn.; ABC Prep). Mayfield buried a jumper, Gilliland hit a free throw and followed with a floater off the inbound before converting an and-one to help settle things down.
Freshman Jason Talbert (Cleveland; Cleveland Central) emerged as the difference maker late in the first half. He gave PRCC its first lead at 22-20 with a putback and later drilled a 3-pointer before the media timeout to push the score to 25-21. The Wildcats stretched the advantage to 35-28 when Talbert knocked down another 3-pointer off a corner feed from Kelan Rich (Pascagoula). Talbert connected from deep once more before the break, sending Pearl River into halftime with a 40-35 edge.
Pearl River extended its lead to seven early in the second half as Reece Garrison (Olive Branch) finished at the rim and Daijon Leatherman (Slidell, La.; Legacy School of Sports and Sciences) threw down a two-handed slam to make it 49-42.
Each time Gulf Coast threatened, the Wildcats had an answer. When the Bulldogs trimmed the deficit to six, Rich buried a corner 3-pointer to stretch the lead back to nine. Gilliland answered another push with a long-range jumper as the shot clock expired, keeping momentum firmly in Pearl River's favor at 66-57.
Rich put the finishing touch on the rivalry win late, beating the shot clock again and drilling a 3-pointer to push the Wildcats ahead 79-68. Gulf Coast added a late basket, but Pearl River closed out a 79-70 victory to cap the regular season on a high note.
LEADING THE WAY
Gilliland and Rich shared game-high honors with 18 points apiece. Gilliland added six assists, while Rich dished out three.
Garrison matched his season high with 15 points and added six rebounds and five assists. Talbert turned in his best performance of the year with 14 points and four rebounds. Mayfield rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.
TICKETS
Tickets are available at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets. Tickets purchased in advance are $9, while tickets purchased on game day are $11.
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).
