Hounds Advance With Regulation Miracle To Beat Pearl River In Overtime
The NJCAA Men’s DI National Tournament started of with a bang. An overtime thriller between the #16 seed Moberly Area CC (MO) and #16 seed Pearl River CC (MS).
Moberly took a 36-31 halftime led thanks to G Tyren Moore, who netted ten points with three assists. More from Moore later. Ankerion Gross got 14 in the first to keep the Wildcats close.
Moberly stretched the lead to 9 a couple of times early in the second, but Pearl River put together an 11-1 run to take the lead 52-51 on a tip in by Carlous Williams with 9:12 remaining.
The lead exchanged several time over the next four plus minutes before Pearl River went up 67-61 on a three by Earl Smith, Jr. Still leading by six 70-64, the Greyhounds benefited from a Makalani Kafele jumper and a Moore three to trim it to one, 70-69 with just over three minutes left in regulation.
Moore, a Freshman Guard from Louisville, KY, put the Hounds on his back as he scored 15 of the teams final 17, including the half court shot at end of regulation to send it to overtime.
Pearl River went up 77-74 on a Carlous Williams triple with 1.8 remaining. Following a Moberly time out, Moore took the inbound pass with momentum, add a step and a dribble, he launched a 52 footer that banked in just as the horn sounded.
In the overtime, MACC outpointed Pearl River 18-12 for the final 95-89 victory.
Leading the way for Moberly was Moore with a game high 25 (5-8 from distance), to go with his seven apples. Sincere Parker totaled 21, with Dorion Staples pouring in 13 points and grabbing 8 boards. Michael Thomas finished with 11.
Moberly (28-6) moves to the sweet sixteen for a date with #1 Salt Lake CC, Tuesday, March 15 at 2:00 CDT.
Pearl River ends a District Championship year to fall to 24-4, far short of their expectations. They were led by Ankerion “Noodle” Gross with 23. Carlous Williams added 18 and six boards. Jaroon Wlikens ended with 10. Cameron Brown tallied 8 rebounds.
