No. 16 Pearl River advances to fifth straight Region XXIII semifinal game

Dylan Dunaway - PRCC Sports Information Director

POPLARVILLE, Miss. — Few things are certain in the world, but one thing that feels certain is the Pearl River men's basketball team competing in the Region XXIII semifinals. The 16th-ranked Wildcats made quick work of Northwest Tuesday night inside of Marvin R. White Coliseum, smacking the Rangers 63-44.

The win sends the Wildcats to their fifth consecutive Region XXIII semifinal game where they will take on LSU Eunice. The Bengals knocked off East Mississippi 76-73 to set up the matchup.

"They were working us to get down the court, but we were trying to limit their possessions by going deep into our shot clock which helped us out," head coach Chris Oney said. "I felt good about where we were but I knew if we were able to get a stop I could run time. Thankfully, we were able to get some stops and run out the clock to advance.

Oney is already looking ahead to his matchup with LSU Eunice.

"Eunice does a good job. We're going to have to be ready to play but so will they," he said. "It's the playoffs. We will be able to get some rest and figure out what we need to do. It's win or go home time now and we hope we get a chance to play in Hutchinson, Kansas."

FIRST HALF For the second night in the row, Ankerion Gross (Sardis; North Panola) opened the Pearl River (22-3 overall) scoring by knocking down a 3-pointer. Northwest (18-8) tied it back up with a 3-pointer of its own.

Jaronn Wilkens (Biloxi) was able to fight his way to the basket for a layup shortly after and Cameron Brown (Hattiesburg) nailed a 3-pointer from the wing to make the score 8-3.

Brown knocked down his second 3-pointer of the night moments later. The ball found him just one step in front of the logo as the shot clock ticked down to one second. The guard pulled up from the spot and hit nothing but net to make the lead 13-8.