Pearl River falls to Meridian for first time since 2013-14

Published 11:03 am Wednesday, January 18, 2023

MERIDIAN, Miss. — The Pearl River men’s basketball team had a setback Tuesday night, falling on the road against Meridian, 76-62. The loss to the Eagles is the first since the 2013-14 season.

PRCC has now also lost back-to-back games for the first time since the 2017-18 season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Meridian (10-4 overall; 2-2 MACCC) got on the scoreboard right off the bat with a 3-pointer and quickly built out a 14-9 lead.

The Wildcats pulled the game within two points soon after with the help of Preston Turner (Laurel; West Jones), who fought through a foul to get a layup to fall. The sophomore center promptly converted his free throw attempt to make the score 14-12.

Another good offensive play from Turner helped PRCC cut the deficit to 22-19 with a few minutes remaining in the half. After a missed 3-pointer, Turner snatched the rebound and dished the ball off to Ayub Nurhussein (Hamilton, Ontario.; Toronto Basketball Academy). The 6-foot-9 forward then knocked down an off-balance free throw while being fouled. His free throw attempt was good.

The Eagles held on to the lead over the final minutes of the half, going into the break with a 34-31 lead.

The contest was all Eagles over the final 20 minutes of the night as they opened the half on a big run to extend their lead to 59-40.

The Wildcats tried to gain momentum midway through the half, but Meridian closed out the game with a 76-62 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS

Jermarhi Hill (Bessemer, Ala.; Berkmar) led the Wildcats in points with 12. Carlous Williams (Hattiesburg; Harrison Central) trailed him narrowly with 11.

Nurhussein finished with nine points and Dylan Brumfield (Oak Grove) added eight.

NEXT UP

Pearl River returns to Marvin R. White Coliseum Thursday for a big-time matchup against archrival Gulf Coast. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

CASHLESS BOX OFFICE 

To help improve traffic flow and fan experience, PRCC athletics box offices will be cashless in 2022-23. Only credit and debit cards will be accepted at the box office. Fans are encouraged to beat the lines and purchase their tickets in advance at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets.

TUNE IN 

Pearl River livestreams all home games for free at PRCCMedia.com/gold. Fans who have Roku, Amazon Fire, or Apple TV devices can also watch the Wildcat broadcasts by downloading the “Pearl River CC” channel from their app stores.

Games will also be available over the air in Pearl River County by tuning into 1320 AM and 106.9 FM. The radio broadcast is also available at WRJWRadio.com and by downloading the WRJW app.

For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on Twitter (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).