No. 2 Pearl River dispatches SUSLA in Region XXIII quarterfinals

CLINTON, Miss. — No. 2 Pearl River dispatched Southern-Shreveport 71-58 on Tuesday to open the Region XXIII Tournament.

What resonated with MACJC Coach of the Year Chris Oney, however, was the potential learning experience provided by the quarterfinal matchup inside Mississippi College’s A.E. Wood Coliseum.

“I’m sure when I go back and watch the film we’ll play better than what I’m imagining we played. We held them to 58 points and they scored some points late so they were in the 40s in the end,” Oney said. “We almost lost the Jones game, we almost lost the Southwest game, we almost lost the Northeast game. Teams when we get them down are going to press, run, jump and do things. We can’t make the mistakes we keep making and think we’re going to get away with it.

“We have to be smarter.”

With the win, Pearl River advances to play Hinds at 3 p.m. Thursday in the tournament’s semifinal round.

Hinds defeate