The Pearl River Central Blue Devils lost a district game to the Hattiesburg Tigers 76-57 on Jan. 17.

The Tigers were undefeated in district play heading into the match up and continued their streak by defeating the Blue Devils.

Heading into the game, Head Coach Scott Stephens said his team would need to crash the boards and execute defensively.

Hattiesburg is team with a lot of size, so the Blue Devils needed to overcome that obstacle in order to win.

“I thought we played a pretty good first half. Obviously rebounding was a concern and guarding key people was something we have to do a better job with,” Stephens said.

Those areas will look to be improved upon as the Blue Devils prepare for a game against the Hancock Hawks on Jan. 21.

The game against Hancock won’t have any impact on the team’s seeding since it’s not a district game.

However, it will be important that the Blue Devils bounce back because the following game against Picayune’s Maroon Tide on Jan. 24 will be an important district matchup.

“I’m looking for a lot of effort and energy to beat a good Hancock team.”

“We have to go over there and execute, pay attention to detail and not turn the ball over,” Stephens said.

Hancock is currently on a four game losing streak and will be looking to right the ship when the team plays the Blue Devils.

Defensively the Blue Devils will need to take care of business while hoping senior point guard Kelton Seal can guide PRC on the other end of the court.

Stephens said his team will need to shut down some of the Hawks’ offensive players in order to earn a victory.

“I think it’s similar to Hattiesburg. We have to key in on certain people, do a better job with a couple of those guys and we have to rebound better,” Stephens said.

Rebounding and getting stops defensively has been key for the Blue Devils all season.

Stephens said in a district filled with teams who have decent size, the Blue Devils have to crash the boards and play as a team to win.

That’s exactly what Stephens will be looking for when his squad takes on the Hawks.

“It’s a common thing throughout the district, there are a couple guys you have to cover and you have to rebound.”

“If you do that you’ll be ok, if not you’re going to make things hard on yourself,” Stephens said.

The game against Hancock will being at 7:30 p.m.