POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The scoring was spread all around for the Pearl River men's basketball team Thursday afternoon against Community Christian College.
All 11 Wildcats scored, and seven players eclipsed the double-digit mark in a 120-69 victory over the Crusaders.
"We were a little out of shape coming back from the break. We came back and tried to play a lot of man-to-man to get back going," head coach Chris Oney said. "It was good for some guys to see the ball go through the hoop. This game was exactly what we needed to get us back going."
Pearl River (10-3 overall) didn't take its first lead against Community Christian until the 13-minute mark as Stevent Watkins Jr. (Ridgeland) displayed his catch-and-shoot 3-pointer ability from the corner, 12-9.
The Crusaders briefly snatched the lead back before Watkins Jr. added eight more points from another 3-pointer and a pair of driving layups to give the Wildcats a 19-14 lead. PRCC did not relinquish the lead after that point.
Krystian Lewis (Monroe, La.; Wossman) converted an old-fashioned 3-pointer to make the score 25-17. He first snatched a rebound and went coast-to-coast for the layup before hitting the ensuing free throw.
Pearl River went up by 20 points at the 3:19 mark in the first half when Krystian Lewis drained a 3-pointer after a pass from Watkins Jr. A few plays later, the lead was at 21 points for Pearl River. Cooper Kennedy (Laurel; West Jones) whipped a pass across the court to Zahir Gutierrez (Olive Branch), and he drilled his long ball from the left wing, 51-30.
Just before the first half ended, Dylan Sanders (Aurora, Colo) made his first 3-pointer to send PRCC into the break ahead 54-33.
Pearl River's lead swelled to 23 points with just under 13 minutes left in the second half. Joah Chappelle (Atlanta, Ga; Dutchtown) caught a pass from Mason Lewis (Stockbridge, Ga.; Woodland) and threw down a ferocious dunk to make the score 70-47. Jamarion Smith (Magnolia; South Pike) picked up the next Wildcat basket, 72-48.
The Wildcats saw their lead eclipse the 30-point mark with nine minutes left, with Kedrick Osby (Moss Point) breaking away for a huge two-handed slam. It then became a 40-point lead with just over seven minutes left. This time, Sanders joined in on the dunk party.
Pearl River was the recipient of points from Issace Grady Jr. (Columbus; New Hope), Kennedy and Guttierrez down the stretch as the Wildcats thumped the Crusaders 120-69.
BY THE NUMBERS
Krystian Lewis and Chappelle tied for the team lead in points with 17 apiece.
Watkins Jr. tallied 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting, including a 4-for-6 mark from beyond the arc.
"I didn't play him a lot early because he was turning the ball over," Oney said. "I have to play him for what he's capable of doing. He's shooting the ball really well right now."
Mason Lewis finished with 14 points and a team-high nine assists. Osby had 14 points and five rebounds. Gutierrez scored 13 points. Smith had a team-high nine rebounds.
NEXT UP
The Wildcats return home Thursday for a 7 p.m. game against Delgado.