Friday, January 27, 2006
Wildcats tops in South after demolishing Warriors 71-53
Lady Wildcats fall 76-61 to take sixth division loss

     POPLARVILLE — Pearl River’s Wildcats snatched sole possession of first place in the MACJC South Division after wiping out East Central 71-53 here Monday in the Poplarville High School gymnasium.
     The two teams entered the battle with identical 5-1 league marks, but PRCC proved too much for the Warriors; boasting 35-25 and 36-28 advantages in the first and second halves, respectively.
     The Wildcats improved to 12-6 overall and 6-1 in the division, while East Central fell to 14-4 and 5-2.
     The Lady Wildcats, on the other hand, fell to 2-16 and 1-6 via their 76-61 loss to the Lady Warriors. ECCC’s women, second in the division race, improved to 13-5 and 6-1.
     Wildcat head coach Richard Mathis lauded his team’s performance. “We played really well against a very good basketball team,” Mathis said. “It was one of our best defensive efforts of the entire year and we completely shut down their inside game.
     “It was a really good win that gives us sole possession of first place in the South. We’re just concentrating on winning the division, getting into the (state) tournament, and see what happens.”
     The Wildcats jumped out to a commanding 19-6 lead in the opening minutes, thanks, in part, to a 12-point effort during the scoring surge from freshman forward Wesley Jones of Beatrice, Ala., who finished the night with 30 points and 11 rebounds — both game-high totals.
     The Warriors answered with a 9-0 run to cut PRCC’s lead to four at the 9:06 mark, but Chasen Uptain of Poplarville followed with back-to-back treys over a 28-second span to put the Wildcats up 25-15 with 7:12 left before the intermission. Things went 10-10 from there on out and PRCC led 35-25 at the intermission.
     Pearl River held East Central to a meager eight points for over nine minutes to open the second half, while scoring 18 to grab its largest lead of the game — 53-33 — with 8:45 left, but the Warriors retaliated with a 12-2 run to cut the score to 55-45 with 5:50 remaining. PRCC bounced back with a 16-8 scoring surge to end the game.
     “(Darius) Acker (St. Stanislaus), (A.J.) Harris (Stone County), and (Jamar) Flowers (White Castle, La.) played tremendously on the defensive side, taking their best perimeter player (Johnny Hodge) completely out of the game,” Mathis continued. “Hodge didn’t get but six points and he is a key ingredient in East Central’s success so far.
     “But we’ve still got a long way to go,” he added. “Northwest is still the team to beat if you’re going to win it all. Sooner or later, you’ve got to beat them.”
     Mathis said Jones’ superb effort was his 11th double-double of the season.
     Paul Milligan paced the Warriors with 13 points (two treys), while Andre Coleman (one trey) and Earnesto Green (one trey) added seven each. Richardo Alcanter and Hodge had six each, while Pierre Barlow scored five, Coshune Bingham and Sam Walton, four each; and Bryan Johnson one.
     Besides Jones, Flowers scored 12 and hauled in 10 boards; while Jeremy Holder added 10 and grabbed eight rebounds. Marquez Singleton of Bay High had nine (one trey), Uptain six (two treys), and Harris four.
     At the foul line, East Central hit 56.3 percent (nine of 16) to Pearl River’s 66.7 percent (eight of 12); while the Warriors were 20 of 63 (31.7 percent) from the field to the Wildcats’ 30-of-60 (50 percent) effort. ECCC was four of 18 (22.2 percent) from three-point range, while PRCC was three of 10 (30 percent).
     The Wildcats held a 45-31 edge in rebounding, including a lopsided 33-18 margin in defensive boards.
     In the women’s game, East Central built its lead to 18 points — its largest of the first half — off a three-pointer by Andrea Dubose at the 3:00 mark. PRCC answered with two buckets from LaTerrica Booth of Bassfield and a solo basket by Shyeeda Wynne of Lumberton to make it 32-20 at the intermission.
     Back-to-back technical fouls on Pearl River six minutes into the second half pumped ECCC’s lead to its largest of the night — 47-25 — but after head coach Ed Walley was ejected following the second T the Lady Wildcats were seemingly inspired.
     Angela Miller’s three pointer with at the 13:58 mark kicked off an impressive 28-10 run by the Lady Wildcats to pull PRCC to within four — 57-53 — with 5:25 left. Miller, a freshman point from Penbroke, Ga.; bucketed another trey at the 10:40 mark, then added back-to-back baskets to make it 51-41.
     Dubose answered the run with a trey, then Miller made good on a three-point play to make it 60-56 with five minutes to go. From that point, ECCC iced the game with a 16-5 run.
     East Central’s LaSaundra Harrison (three treys) led all scorers in the contest with 19 points, while Dubose contributed 15 (four treys), Valerie Harris (nine rebounds, one trey) and Shannon Lloyd (13 rebounds), 11 each; Jessica Anderson six, Sara Judice and Amanda Schmidt, five each; and Elyse Clay four.
     Miller finished with a career-high 17 points (two treys), while Booth added 15 (eight rebounds), Dee Robertson of North Forrest seven (six rebounds), Calla Daggins of Mereaux, La., and Shyeeda Wynne of Lumberton, six each; Ashley Jones of Florence five, Ziena Husband of Petal four, and Brittany Blackston of Hattiesburg High one.
East Central hit 72.4 percent (25 of 35) from the free-throw line, while Pearl River managed a 65 percentile (13 of 20). From the field, ECCC hit 21of 58 (36.2 percent) to PRCC’s 23-of-79 (29.1 percent) effort. The Lady Warriors were nine of 16 (56.3 percent) from three-point range, while the Lady Widlcats were two of 13 (15.4 percent).
     Pearl River eyes more South Division action Thursday when it hosts Jones in the PHS gymnasium. The women’s game tips off at 6 p.m., followed by the men’s at 8 p.m.
 

PEARL RIVER COMMUNITY COLLEGE
SPORTS INFORMATION
 

East Central at Pearl River
MACJC women’s and men’s South Division basketball games
played Jan. 30, 2006 at Poplarville, MS
 

WOMEN
East Central 76, Pearl River 61
Halftime: 32-20 (ECCC)
 

Scorers
EAST CENTRAL (13-5, 6-1): LaSaundra Harrison 19 (3 treys), Andrea Dubose 15 (4 treys), Valerie Harris 11 (1 trey, 9 RB), Shannon Lloyd 11 (13 RB), Jessica Anderson 6, Sara Judice 5, Amanda Schmidt 5, Elyse Clay 4.
 

PEARL RIVER (2-16, 1-6): Angela Miller 17 (2 treys), LaTerrica Booth 15 (8 RB), Dee Robertson 7 (6 RB), Calla Daggins 6, Shyeeda Wynne 6, Ashley Jones 5, Ziena Husband 4, Brittany Blackston 1.
 

FREE THROWS: ECCC — 25-35 (72.4%), PRCC — 13-20 (65%).
FIELD GOALS: ECCC — 21-58 (36.2%), PRCC — 23-79 (29.1%).
THREE POINTERS: ECCC — 9-16 (56.3%), PRCC — 2-13 (15.4%).
 

MEN
Pearl River 71, East Central 53
Halftime: 35-25 (PRCC)
 

Scorers
EAST CENTRAL (14-4, 5-2): Paul Milligan 13 (2 treys), Andre Coleman 7 (1 trey), Earnesto Green 7 (1 trey), Ricardo Alcanter 6, Johnny Hodge 6, Pierre Barlow 5, Coshune Bingham 4, Sam Walton 4, Bryan Johnson 1.
 

PEARL RIVER (12-6, 6-1): Wesley Jones 30 (11 RB), Jamar Flowers 12 (10 RB), Jeremy Holder 10 (8 RB), Marquez Singleton 9 (1 trey), Chasen Uptain 6 (2 treys), A.J. Harris 4, .
 

FREE THROWS: ECCC — 9-16 (56.3%), PRCC — 8-12 (66.7%).
FIELD GOALS: ECCC — 20-63 (31.7%), PRCC — 30-60 (50%).
THREE POINTERS: ECCC — 4-18 (22.2%), PRCC — 3-10 (30%).
 

UP NEXT: Pearl River hosts South Divison rival Jones Thursday at the Poplarville High gynasium. Gametimes: 6 p.m. (women), 8 p.m. (men).