'The greatest’: No. 2 Pearl River makes its case after 2nd straight Region XXIII title

CLINTON, Miss. — All season long, Pearl River coach Chris Oney has told anyone who would listen that his Wildcats were the best to ever play in Region XXIII.

The Wildcat head man now has plenty of evidence to back up what he already knew.

Looking for a second straight automatic bid to the upcoming NJCAA Tournament, No. 2 Pearl River made a statement Friday night by defeating Jones College 75-62 inside Mississippi College’s A.E. Wood Coliseum. The victory secured PRCC’s second straight Region XXIII title.

“I’m just going to say it and I’m not going to bite my tongue saying it — that’s why this is the best team to ever play in Region XXIII,” Oney said. “I think of us as the ultimate team. Every night it’s a different guy who steps up to help us win games — every game. Go all the way back to our scrimmages and we haven’t lost a game.

“Find me another team across the region that has done what this team has done. This is the greatest team to ever play in Region XXIII.”

Friday’s win was PRCC’s fourth straight over Jones College after the Wildcats swept the regular season home-and-home and then eliminated the Bobcats from the MACJC Tournament.

“That’s a very good Jones team. I don’t know that there are many other teams in the county who could have beaten them four times,” Oney said, “and this team did it a different way every single time. I’m just proud of them.”

The win also makes Pearl River (28-0 overall) the first MACJC school to enter the NJCAA Tournament undefeated.

“We have been working for this our whole career,” Brown said. “Our coaches put us in this position to be successful.”