In The Battle Of The Cats, The Wild Run Off The Bob
(Feb 3, 2022) Ellisville, MS – In a key confrontation in the MACCC, #22 Pearl River traveled to Ellisville to battle against Jones. It was a close one, but the Wildcats held on down the stretch to remain unbeaten in the MACCC. The game was just your typical, normal, everyday, run-of-the-mill, blow a lead, come from behind, 68-64 thriller.
That win, jumps Pearl to 16-2 overall, and 11-0 in conference play. The Wildcats have tamed the Bobcats for seven straight, and it was the twelfth consecutive triumph for PRCC since Delgado got ’em on the road before Thanksgiving.
Jones, who started off the season 10-0, have fallen on hard times since the conference opened play. The Bobcats have lost five of their last 8 and now sit at 13-5, 5-5.
Comfortably in front for most of the first half, The River took their largest lead of the game, 28-14, with 4:00 to play on a Jaronn Wilkens lay-in. Jones trimmed the deficit to eight, 33-25, on a nice mini run to close out the half.
But the Bobcats didn’t stop there, JC completed the comeback by taking a 40-39 lead at the 12:00 minute mark on a Calvin Temple jumper. The two teams traded buckets for several minutes, neither team taking any decisive lead.
Then, with just over six minutes to play, a Caleb McGill triple gave Jone’s its largest advantage at 53-51.
Moments later, Pearl Rivers’ Jaronn Wilkens scored four in a row, two FTs and a lay-in, and the Wildcats were back in front. That spark from Wilkens helped PRCC seize the momentum and lead out to the four point final.
“We had a 14-point lead in the first half but made some blunders that allowed them to get back into the game,” head coach Chris Oney said. “Thankfully, in the end, we were able to get the stops we needed to. I think we played well overall,” Oney added.
The Wild were led by said Jaronn Wilkens’ 22 points, 8 rebound day. Jaronn was almost perfect, going 8 of ten on FGs and 6 for 6 from the charity stripe. In support, Earl Smith, Jr. collected 13 points to go with 5 boards and 5 dimes. Ankerion Gross picked up where he left of in Monday’s win (17 points 4-8 from distance) throwing in 12 points (4-9 on threes) and grabbing five rebounds.
Rebounding has been a mainstay for the Wildcats all season, in the top 40 nationally with an 11.6 rebounding margin. But they only outrebounded Jones, a respectable rebounding team themselves, by one. Showing their consistency, behind Jaronn’s 8, the other four starters for Pearl all ended up with 5, Smith, Cameron Brown, Gross, and Dylan Brumfield.
The Bob received a solid effort from Calvin Temple, who finished with 21 points and five assists (10-10 on FTs). Caleb McGill contributed ten. Ashton Campbell put in seven points, dished out 5 assists, and corralled a game high 12 missed shots.
