Pearl River men earn hard fought victory over Meridian
Tyler Johnson / PRCC Intern
POPLARVILLE, MISS. — The Pearl River men's basketball team grinded out a hard-fought win in Monday's contest against Meridian, taking the game by a score of 56-55.
"I hate these games against (Meridian head coach) James (Green) and I told him that," Pearl River head coach Chris Oney said.
"He makes you work so hard. It's just difficult to beat them."
FIRST HALF Pearl River (9-2 overall; 4-0 MACCC) came out strong to start the night, scoring seven of the first 10 points behind layups by Cameron Brown (Hattiesburg) and Ankerion "Noodle" Gross (Sardis; North Panola) followed up by a Brown 3-pointer, making it 7-3.
After a Meridian (9-4; 1-3) run tied the score at seven, Brown took matters into his own hands hitting another 3-pointer and four layups to give the Wildcats a 14-8 lead.
From there, the teams traded scores until back-to-back J.D. Allen (Brookhaven; Wesson) 3-pointers increased Pearl River's lead to eight at 22-14.
The teams again went back-and-forth with Pearl River holding the 31-27 advantage heading into halftime.
SECOND HALF Meridian opened the second half with a six-point run to give them their first lead of the night at 35-31.
The Wildcats then equalized through two hard-fought layups from Jariyon Wilkens (Biloxi) and Jaronn Wilkens (Biloxi).
The teams again traded blows with Brown keeping Pearl River in the game with stellar shooting from the free-throw line, leveling the score at 45 each.
Meridian again went on a small run to give them a 46-41 lead, but the Wildcats did not let that deter them, tying things up once again after Jaronn Wilkens fought all the way to the rim with a tough layup and Brown knocked down another 3-pointer.
The Eagles found momentum leading 50-48 late in the contest, but the Wildcats again responded with an Allen 3-pointer, shifting all the momentum to Pearl River.
With time expiring, Meridian drove down the court one final time needing a 3-pointer to tie, but as the Eagles attempted the shot Jariyon Wilkens soared through the air and recorded a thunderous block, nearly sealing things for the Wildcats.
MCC added two late free throws, but it was not enough as Pearl River came away with the 56-55 victory.
BY THE NUMBERS Brown led the way in scoring for the Wildcats, scoring 17 points off three 3-pointers and a perfect 8-for-8 night from the free-throw line.
Allen had a breakout game for the Wildcats, tallying 15 points, all from beyond the arc.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/06b258_23295c0c5c9049a8b5694b8f1175a201~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_144,h_96,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/06b258_23295c0c5c9049a8b5694b8f1175a201~mv2.jpg)
"That's the JD we envisioned when we signed him," Oney said.
Jariyon Wilkens led the team in rebounding with 7, he also chipped in three blocks. Earl Smith, Jr (Jackson; Lanier) was second in rebounds with six. Smith led the team in assists with 10.
J.D. Allen (Brookhaven; Wesson) hits one of five 3-pointers in Monday's 56-55 victory (Courtney Crosby/PRCC)
UP NEXT
The Wildcats return to action Thursday evening on the road against Gulf Coast. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
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