Friday, January 28, 2005
PRCC hands Wolves first division loss; 
Lady ’Cats whalloped 74-59

     POPLARVILLE — Pearl River’s Wildcats whalloped first-place Copiah-Lincoln 81-64, while the Lady ’Cats fell 74-59 in MACJC men’s and women’s South Division basketball action here Thursday in M.R. White Coliseum.
     PRCC’s men improved to 9-8 overall and 3-3 in league action, while its women dropped to 9-0 and 2-4. The Wolves, undefeated in division play heading into the 
match up, dropped to 11-6 and 5-1, while the Lady Wolves improved to 12-5 and 5-1.
     The defending MACJC state champ Wildcats trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half before kicking off a staggering 27-4 run with some 10 minutes left before the intermission to grab a 41-29 lead at the half.
     “We beat the top team in the division and it couldn’t have come at a better time,” said PRCC head coach Richard Mathis who has guided his team to state titles the past two seasons. “Hopefully, we can build on this. I still think it’s going to take seven or eight wins to make the cut to get into the state tournament.”
     Co-Lin led 25-14 at the 10:10 mark of the first half, but Pearl River held the Wolves to a meager four points during the remaining time before the intermission. Freshman forward Alton Robinson of Hattiesburg High finished the night with a game-high 23 points and scored 13 points during the Wildcats’ scoring surge, including three treys. He hit his last three pointer at the buzzer to give PRCC its 12-point lead at the half.
     “We changed to a straight 2-3 zone when we were down by 11 and that slowed them down a bit offensively,” Mathis continued. “Of course, they (Co-Lin) didn’t shoot as well as they normally do, but they’ve got two good outside shooters and we just paid a little more attention to them and it worked out.”
     The Wildcats led by as many as 21 in the second half.
     Besides Robinston, who also grabbed seven boards, dished off five assists, blocked two shots, and had two steals in the game, Napoleon Roberts of McIntosh, Ala., pumped in a season-high 16 points and hauled in a game-high eight rebounds and blocked one shot. Jeremy Holder of Lumberton added 16 (six of seven from the field, six rebounds, two treys), while Marquez Singleton of Bay scored six, Laron Magee of Hattiesburg High five, Channing Cohens of Oak Grove and A.J. Harris of Stone County, three each; and Derrick Cook of West Jones, Brandon Mitchell of Forrest County AHS, Thomas Fraise of New Orleans, Terry Wade of Oak Grove, and Jason Simmons of Hattiesburg High, two a piece. Point guard Dale Clay of Hindsville, Ga., was scoreless but had a team-high six assists.
     Ladell Eackles also had 23 points (three treys) to lead the Wolves, while Joe Holliday added 18 (four treys), Dexter Middleton 10 (five rebounds, four assists), Brandon Caston six (two treys, four assists), and Ivory Dishmon (five assists, three steals), Cedric Walker, and Arvel Keys, two a piece; and Felton Walker one.
     Pearl River hit 52.6 percent (10 of 19) from the foul line to Copiah-Lincoln’s 78.6 percent (11 of 14), while the Wildcats sank 33 of 52 field goal attempts (63.5 percent) to the Wolves’ 22 of 59 (37.3 percent) effort. PRCC hit 55.6 percent (five of nine) from three-point range, while Co-Lin hit 29 percent (nine of 31). The Wolves won the turnover battle 11-14.
     In the women’s game, Pearl River kept it close in the early going; even grabbing a short-lived lead in the opening minutes. After Lamitra Daggs of New Orleans sank a pair of foul shots to tie it up at 14-14 midway in the first half, Co-Lin’s Jessica Melton hit a trey to kick off a 22-10 to put the Lady Wolves up 36-24 at the half.
     The Lady Wildcats managed to pull to within five with 15:10 left, then cut Co-Lin’s lead to 50-43 at the 9:17 mark before the Lady Wolves ended the game with a 24-16 run to take the 15-point victory.
     Carmen Labat of Bay High led PRCC with a game-high 17 points (three steals, one trey), while Vontrease Smith of Millen, Ga., added nine (one trey); Ashley Jones of Florence (nine rebounds) and Julia Jordan of Gautier (five rebounds), seven each; Yolanda Hartfield of Hattiesburg High and Lamitra Daggs of New Orleans (five assists), six each; Nikki Smith of Poplarville High three, and Mashana Bonner of Quitman and Shannon Primos of Forrest County AHS (six rebounds), two each.
     Crystal Brown, Jessica Melton (six assists, three steals, one trey), and Loretta Martin (four steals) led Co-Lin with 13 a piece; while Travalyn Smith added 11, Dana King six (two treys), Gloria Lewis (four assists) and Anna Autman, five each; and Kristian McCray and Ashley Murphy (one trey), two each.
     Pearl River hit 43.2 percent (19 of 44) from the field to Co-Lin’s 40.4 percent (23 of 57), while the Lady Wildcats sank two of 11 three-point attempts (18.2 percent) to the Lady Wolves’ four of nine (44.4 percent) effort.
     At the foul line, PRCC was 19 of 32 (59.4 percent); while CLCC was 24 of 36 (66.7 percent). Pearl River had 28 turnovers to Copiah-Lincoln’s 15.
     It’s more South Division action for Pearl River when it travels to East Central Monday, then league rival Jones plays host Thursday in Ellisville. The women’s games tip off at 6 p.m., followed by the men’s at 8 p.m.

Copiah-Lincoln @ Pearl River
MACJC South Division Basketball Games
Played Jan. 27, 2005 @ Poplarville, MS

WOMEN
Copiah-Lincoln 75, Pearl River 59
Halftime: 36-24 (CLCC)

Scorers
COPIAH-LINCOLN (12-5, 5-1): Crystal Brown 13, Jessica Melton 13 (6 assists, 3 steals, 1 trey), Loretta Martin 13 (4 steals), Travalyn Smith 11, Dana King 6 (2 treys), Gloria Lewis 5 (4 assists), Anna Autman 5, Kristian McCray 4, Ashley Murphy 4 (1 trey).

PEARL RIVER (9-8, 2-4): Carmen Labat 17 (3 steals, 1 trey), Vontrease Smith 9 (1 trey), Ashley Jones 7 (9 RB), Julia Jordan 7 (5 RB), Yolanda Hartfield 6, Lamitra Daggs 6 (5 assists), Nikki Smith 3, Mashana Bonner 2, Shannon Primos 2 (6 RB).

FREE THROWS: PRCC — 19 of 32 (59.4%), CLCC — 24 of 36 (66.7%).
FIELD GOALS: PRCC — 19 of 44 (43.2%), CLCC — 23 of 57 (40.4%).
THREE-POINTERS: PRCC — 2 of 11 (18.2%), CLCC — 4 of 9 (44.4%).
TURNOVERS: PRCC — 28, CLCC — 15.

MEN
Pearl River 81, Copiah-Lincoln 64
Halftime: 41-29 (PRCC)

Scorers
COPIAH-LINCOLN (11-6, 5-1): Ladell Eackles 23 (3 treys, 3 steals), Joe Holliday 18 
(4 treys), Dexter Middleton 10 (5 RB, 4 assists), Brandon Caston 6 (2 treys, 4 assists), Ivory Dishmon 2 (3 steals, 5 assists), Cedric Walker 2, Arvel Keys 2, Felton Walker 1.

PEARL RIVER (9-8, 3-3): Alton Robinson 23 (3 of 3 trey attempts, 7 RB, 5 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks), Napoleon Roberts 16 (8 RB, 1 block), Jeremy Holder 15 (6 RB, 2 treys, 6 of 7 FG), Marquez Singleton 6, Laron Magee 5, Channing Cohens 3, A.J. Harris 3, Derrick Cook 2, Brandon Mitchell 2, Thomas Fraise 2, Terry Wade 2, Jason Simmons 2, Dale Clay 0 (6 assists).

FREE THROWS: PRCC — 10 of 19 (52.6%), CLCC — 11 of 14 (78.6%).
FIELD GOALS: PRCC — 33 of 52 (63.5%), CLCC — 22 of 59 (37.3%).
THREE-POINTERS: PRCC — 5 of 9 (55.6%), CLCC — 9 of 31 (29%).
TURNOVERS: PRCC — 14, CLCC — 11.

UPCOMING: It’s more South Division action for PRCC when it travels to East Central Monday at 6 p.m. (women) and 8 p.m. (men).