Strong second half propels No. 22 Pearl River past Holmes

PRCC / Tyler Johnson-Intern

POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The No. 22 Pearl River men's basketball team welcomed the Holmes Bulldogs into Marvin R. White Coliseum for Monday night's matchup and overcame a halftime deficit to defeat the Bulldogs 64-48.

"I don't think that we played badly in the first half, but I think that we came out with a different energy in the second half," head coach Chris Oney said. "I'm proud of the team and the fight that they showed tonight."

FIRST HALF Holmes (6-11 overall; 2-6 MACCC) started off on the front foot by nailing a 3-pointer for the early 3-0 lead.

Pearl River (15-2; 10-0) responded quickly through a Dylan Brumfield (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) jumper from the free-throw line, cutting the deficit to 3-2. After Holmes scored to make the score 5-2, the Wildcats again found a response this time through an Ankerion Gross (Sardis; North Panola) 3-pointer that tied the score at 5-5.

From there, the Wildcats went on a small run. The run was started by a Jaronn Wilkens (Biloxi) layup.

Earl Smith, Jr (Jackson; Lanier) then drove to the outside before stepping back and putting the Holmes defender on skates. He then drained a 3-pointer, opening things up in favor of Pearl River 10-5.

From there, the teams traded blows with Holmes, grabbing a 16-13 advantage.

Pearl River again was quick to respond through a J.D. Allen (Brookhaven; Wesson) 3-pointer, tying the game at 16 apiece.

After a quick Bulldog basket, the Wildcats kept possession after a missed rebound chance went out of play. As Smith searched for an option to inbound the ball, Carlous Williams (Hattiesburg; Harrison Central) slashed through the lane catching the alley-oop pass and slamming it home, tying the game 18-18.