POPLARVILLE, Miss. — Patience proved to be the difference for the Pearl River men's basketball team Monday night as the Wildcats weather a second-half surge from Copiah-Lincoln to take down the Wolves 67-59.
"I knew it was going to be this kind of game against them. A lot of teams panic and try to pressure them because they want the game to speed up," head coach Chris Oney said. "I've been playing (Copiah-Lincoln head coach) Randy (Bolden) long enough to know not to do that. We had to stay patient and pick the spots where we were aggressive.
"Going in, I knew it was going to be one of those games we'd have to grind out. It's never pretty when we play against Randy's teams."
Pearl River (14-9 overall; 6-2 MACCC) and Copiah-Lincoln (11-9; 4-3) traded buckets early before CLCC grabbed its final lead of the first half at 5-4. Christian Gilliland (Memphis, Tenn.; ABC Prep) pushed the Wildcats back in front with a basket and followed with a 3-pointer on the next possession to spark a seven-point run. Daijon Leatherman (Slidell, La.; Legacy School of Sports and Sciences) capped the spurt by battling down low for a bucket, giving PRCC an 11-5 advantage.
The Wolves trimmed the deficit to 11-10, but Pearl River responded with another impressive run — this time scoring 12 straight points. Gilliland connected on a floater and a layup, while Leatherman went a perfect 2-for-2 at the free-throw line to set up one of the Wildcats' most memorable plays of the night. A lob intended for Mayfield was deflected into the air before finding Lazarus Mason (Atlanta, Ga.; Grayson) in the corner. With the rim still rattling from the dunk attempt, Mason calmly buried the corner 3-pointer to push the lead to 20-10. Mayfield finished the run with a bucket and a completed three-point play, 23-10.
CLCC pulled within seven at 25-18, but the Wildcats again created separation. Pearl River built a 10-point lead at 30-22 that quickly grew to 14 following a well-timed over-the-top pass from Kelan Rich (Pascagoula) to Leatherman and a pair of floaters from Gilliland, 36-22. PRCC carried a 38-26 advantage into the midway point.
Any momentum Pearl River carried out of the first half was short-lived. The Wolves battled back to square the game at 42-all with 13:56 remaining in the second half.
An eight-point swing helped the Wildcats regain control. Leatherman scored inside, Mason went 2-for-2 from the free-throw line before knocking down a pull-up jumper, and Gilliland beat the shot clock with a midrange jumper to make it 53-45. A few possessions later, Mason extended the lead by drilling a 3-pointer to give him 13 points on the night.
Gilliland helped put the game away down the stretch, highlighted by a late two-handed jam that pushed PRCC's lead to eight, 67-59. The Wildcats held on from there to secure their seventh MACCC victory of the season.
LEADING THE WAY
Gilliland finished with 25 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block — his 17th game with 20 or more points this season.
Leatherman added 14 points and nine rebounds while blocking four shots. Mason chipped in 13 points and three assists, and Garrison contributed nine points, four rebounds and two assists.
NEXT UP
Pearl River returns to action Saturday for a 5 p.m. matchup at Coahoma. The game will be livestreamed at CoahomaSports.com/watch.
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