Pearl River basketball braces for busy week
POPLARVILLE – Pearl River’s basketball teams won’t have much downtime following Thanksgiving break with a full plate of games in store for the Wildcats and Lady Wildcats. In some instances, the two squads are even going back for seconds.
The No. 20 Wildcats (6-0) visit Baton Rouge on Tuesday for a 6:30 p.m. start. Both the PRCC men and Lady Wildcats (3-0) host Bishop State on Thursday, starting at 2 p.m. PRCC’s women will close out the week with a 2 p.m. contest Saturday at Coastal Alabama-North.
Chris Agbo and Dywana Parker
Both squads will jump into MACJC action Dec. 3 when Copiah-Lincoln visits the Marvin R. White Coliseum. The doubleheader against the Wolfpack starts at 5:30 p.m.
LOOKING FOR SECONDS
Two of PRCC’s foes this week are rather familiar. Both PRCC teams toppled Bishop State on the road early in the season. The Wildcats beat the Green-and-Gold Wildcats 103-71. The Lady Wildcats also beat BSCC 73-58, and then topped Coastal Alabama-North 99-68.
WILDCATS
Coach Chris Oney’s squad enters the week undefeated after knocking off both Coahoma and Mississippi Delta in East Central’s Thanksgiving tournament. The Wildcats had to rally past CCC 85-81 on Monday, overcoming some early shooting woes. PRCC had no such issues the next day as they thumped Delta 97-60.
Through six games, the Wildcats have been one of the most dangerous teams in the NJCAA. According to the NJCAA website, PRCC is the nation’s No. 10 scoring offense, averaging 103.0 points per game.
Cedric Brim Jr. (Tupelo; Shannon) is pacing PRCC with 17.7 points per game. LSU transfer Brandon Rachal (Natchitoches, La.; Natchitoches Central) and Eric Thornton Jr. (Canton; Murrah) are averaging 15.8 and 15.0 points per game.
The Wildcats are have the country’s top assists man in Jonas James III (Jackson; Murrah), who is averaging 9.7 assists per game. His 58 assists through six games rank eighth nationally, although the seven standouts ahead of him have all played more games. As a team, PRCC is averaging 28.0 assists per game, which is also tops in the country. Rachal, Thornton and Brim are all bunched together, averaging 4.3, 4.2 and 3.7 helpers, respectively.
Rachal has proven himself to be a versatile asset for PRCC since transferring to Poplarville during the summer. The former Tiger leads PRCC in rebounding at 7.7. Chris Agbo (Jos, Nigeria) is close behind, averaging 7.0 rebounds per contest.
LADY WILDCATS
While the PRCC men have one of the country’s more feared offenses, Scotty Fletcher’s Lady Wildcats have been getting downright defensive. The PRCC women enter the week with the nation’s 20th scoring defense, holding opponents to just 52.7 ppg. The Lady Wildcats are also one of the country’s top rebounding squads as their 47.0 average is No. 17, according to NJCAA.org. Elexis Peyton (Jackson; Provine) and Dywana Parker (Gulfport) lead PRCC in rebounding, averaging 8.3 and 7.3 boards per game.
Fletcher’s team hasn’t just been getting it done on the defensive end, however. The Lady Wildcats rank 32nd nationally in points per game, averaging 80.0 through three games. Three Lady Wildcats are averaging double figures. Jakia Harper leads PRCC with 17.0 ppg, while Peyton and Olivia Mosley (Pearl) are averaging 12.0 and 10.0 ppg, respectively. Pass Christian product Maliyah Bullard is 50th in the country, averaging 4.3 assists per game.
WATCH AND LISTEN
Wildcat fans – Don’t forget you can watch and listen to all of PRCC’s home games by tuning into PRCCAthletics.com on your computer and smart phones. Carey Meitzler is calling all of the action for PRCCAthletics.com. You can also catch Meitzler’s calls on WRJW 1320-AM, by visiting WRJWRadio.com or downloading the WRJW app.
WILDCAT WONDERLAND
Thursday’s doubleheader against Bishop State was moved up to 2 and 4 p.m. because PRCC is hosting Wildcat Wonderland. The free community event is from 5-7 p.m. and includes pictures with Santa, Reindeer games, Whoville, Mrs. Claus’ cookie decorating, two trains, a live nativity and more. “It’s The Most Wonderful” concert will start at 7:30 p.m. in the Brownstone Center and is $5.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on Twitter (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).
