Over the weekend the Pearl River Central basketball team took part in the Petal Classic and faced Forest High School.

The game ended with a victory for the Blue Devils and served as a way to get some early season nervousness out of the way before playing George County Nov. 4.

The game against the Rebels was a close one, but PRC was able to pull out the victory with the final score being 58-54.

Even though the game gave the Blue Devils a 2-0 record to start the season, Head Coach Scott Stephens said it wasn’t a perfect performance by his team.

“We’re doing a lot of good things, but we’re also making a lot of mistakes that are making things hard on us. To not play well and still be able to win is a testament to what this team could be down the road,” Stephens said.

The team had multiple players in double digits scoring the ball including sophomore Tyaon Terrell, senior Kelton Seal and junior Eli Rawls.

Stephens said the win over Forest helped the team deal with early season nerves and prepared them for the game against George County.

“Having the game Saturday helped us getting ready to play. It helped us settle down a little bit and play hard which we did,” Stephens said.

Decision making during the game has been a point of emphasis for Stephens as his team prepared for the season.

Last season Stephens felt there were too many mental mistakes and that it cost the team some wins.

There’s already been improvement this season, with the two wins evidence of that, but Stephens said his team is still a work in progress when it comes to making the right play at the right time.

“I think we’re trying to make difficult plays when we don’t need to. If we were just to slow down and make the easy play, take what’s given to us we’d be OK,” Stephens said.

Making the right read in certain situations comes with experience and as the season goes on the team will continue to try and develop better ways to handle scenarios in game.

The team’s next match up will be an away game at Seminary on Nov. 7.

Travel may play a part in the match up as the Blue Devils will have to travel over an hour to face the Bulldogs.

The game is set to take place at 7 p.m., and Stephens said Seminary would provide a good challenge for his team early in the season.

“It’s not an easy place to win. You have to travel a little bit to get there, They’re athletic and we’re going to have play hard to get a win,” Stephens said.