Published: November 11, 2008 02:25 am         

PRCC’s Mathis gets 300th win

Special to the Item

POPLARVILLE — Pearl River Community College head men’s basketball coach Richard Mathis copped his 300th Wildcat win via his team’s 85-77 MACJC non-division overtime victory over Holmes Monday in Poplarville.

Mathis, who is in his 18th season at PRCC, now boasts a 300-180 overall record as the Wildcats head coach. Pearl River evened its overall record to 1-1 with the OT win over the Bulldogs.

Mathis’ lifetime head coaching record (33 seasons) is 631-305, while his overall college head coaching record is 558-269.

He has had previous collegiate head coaching stints at East Mississippi CC, Northeast Mississippi CC, and Jacksonville State (Ala.).

Donta Smith had 21 points and nine rebounds in the win for PRCC, while Nick Johnson added 18 points and Timothy Ware 17 points and seven assists. Rod Little had 11 for PRCC and Kendrick Washington had 10 rebounds.

The PRCC women fell 74-53, despite getting 11 points from Jonneshia Pineda. The Lady Wildcats are 0-2.

Pearl River returns to action Thursday when it travels to East Mississippi in Scooba for MACJC non-division games at 5:30 p.m. (women) and 7:30 p.m. (men).