POPLARVILLE, MISS. — All 10 Wildcats on the roster scored Thursday night as Pearl River men's basketball defeated Copiah Lincoln 78-54 to advance to the Region 23 Tournament Quarterfinals.
The Wildcats will now head to the Quarterfinal for a ninth consecutive season.
"I reminded them at halftime that this could be the end of our season," head coach Chris Oney said. "All that we've done and the strides that we've made would be for nothing. I didn't overreact or panic. I knew that once we settled into the game, we were going to be fine."
The Wildcats will now travel to Jones College on Saturday for a 6 p.m. matchup against the Bobcats. The game will be livestreamed at JCBobcats.com/watch. Tickets are available at JCBobcats.com/tickets.
Pearl River (18-12 overall) opened the game strong, jumping out to a quick 6–0 lead. Copiah-Lincoln (14-14) responded and refused to go away quietly, battling back to take an 11–9 advantage. The Wolves pushed their momentum further, extending the run to five straight points and building a 16–9 lead.
The Wildcats answered with a run of their own. Behind a balanced offensive effort that saw four different players score, Pearl River went on an 8–0 run to reclaim the lead at 17–16. With the momentum shifting back in their favor, the Wildcats increased the pace offensively. Kelan Rich (Pascagoula) ignited the crowd with a 3-pointer followed by a dunk on consecutive possessions.
Rich's five-point burst, combined with a Christian Gilliland (Memphis; ABC Prep) layup and a 3-pointer, helped Pearl River extend its lead to 27–22. Copiah-Lincoln managed to score the final basket of the half, trimming the deficit and sending the Wildcats into the locker room with a 27–24 lead.
Pearl River wasted little time getting back on the scoreboard in the second half. Kamarian Mayfield (Waynesboro; Quitman) opened the scoring by driving through contact for a tough layup, pushing the Wildcats ahead 29–24. Shortly after, Gilliland sparked another surge with a 3-pointer and a layup. Gilliland reached the 20-point mark as Pearl River built a 38–29 advantage.
Gilliland wasn't alone in the effort. Daijon Leatherman (Slidell, La.; Legacy School of Sports and Science) helped power the Wildcats to their largest lead of the night to that point, stretching the margin to 14 points.
With Pearl River ahead 47–33, Jason Talbert (Cleveland; Cleveland Central) checked into the game and quickly caught fire from beyond the arc.
Talbert scored his first points on a corner three to give the Wildcats a 50–33 lead. Moments later, he knocked down another 3-pointer to extend the margin even further. He then added two free throws, accounting for eight straight Pearl River points before Jayden Sampson (Cleveland; Cleveland Central) ended the run with a free throw.
Leading 56–37, Talbert wasn't finished. He continued his hot streak by drilling back-to-back catch-and-shoot corner threes, pushing the Wildcats' lead to 25 points.
Copiah-Lincoln managed to trim the deficit to 63–47 late in the game, but Pearl River quickly pushed the lead back to 24 and maintained control down the stretch. The Wildcats closed out the contest with a 78–64 victory.
LEADING THE WAY
Gilliland led the Wildcats in points against Co-Lin, putting up 24 points while shooting 8-for-14 from the field. He also rebounded the ball, bringing in four rebounds. Talbert was next in line for Pearl River, scoring 14 points — all of which came in the second half.
Leatherman was electric in the paint for Pearl River. He scored 12 points and nearly matched that, collecting 11 rebounds. Rich also had an excellent night, having four steals, seven points, three rebounds and five assists.
Reece Garrison (Olive Branch) led Pearl River in assists with six. He also had six points and brought in eight rebounds, rounding out his performance on the stat sheet.
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