POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The Pearl River men's basketball team got Southwest's best Thursday night inside Marvin R. White Coliseum, but the Wildcats found a way to get it done against the Bears, winning 79-70. 

"We haven't been closing out the way we should, and we haven't had the intensity that I felt like we needed to have," head coach Chris Oney said. "I jumped the guys pretty hard about that. I told them this would be the hardest game of the year to this point. I was happy with the way the guys fought in this one."

Oney talked about his team's transition to the 1-2-2 zone that helped change things for the Wildcats.

"I have to give coach (Landon) Lewis the credit for that one," Oney said. "He's so valuable on nights like tonight. He gave me the idea for us to switch to that. It took them some time to figure out what we were in."

Southwest (13-9 overall; 4-3 MACCC) took control early against Pearl River (19-3; 8-0) and did not want to give up the lead. Despite PRCC's best efforts, the Wildcats struggled to get ahead early.

It took nearly 13 minutes into the night for Pearl River to finally take its first lead, and it couldn't have done it without the efforts of Mason Lewis (Stockbridge, Ga.; Woodland) and Dylan Sanders (Aurora, Colo.). 

Trailing by seven points at 30-23, Mason Lewis entered the game and made an immediate impact. He drove down the court and fired up an off-balance floater that hit off the backboard and fell for a basket, giving the Wildcats some momentum. On the next two Wildcat possessions, Sanders was money from beyond the arc, hitting one from the right wing and one from the corner to give PRCC its first lead, 31-30.

The Bears surged back in front and led 37-33 before Mason Lewis saw a little space and drained a mid-range jumper. SMCC followed with a 3-pointer, 40-35. Mason Lewis set the Wildcat bench on fire with his next basket, getting fouled and getting a shot to fall. He converted the three-point play with his free throw to get PRCC within two. A dunk from Kedrick Osby (Moss Point) and another Mason Lewis layup sent the Wildcats into the break ahead 42-41.

With all the fight that PRCC showed in the first half, it needed to fight even harder in the second half. Ten lead changes took place across the 20-minute frame. The Wildcats took a four-point lead, 55-51, with 12 minutes remaining as Osby hit a long-range jumper.

While it seemed PRCC had some momentum, Southwest snatched the lead right back and gave it up just once more on the way to building a 70-67 lead with 3:27 remaining.

Needing someone to step up when it mattered the most, Krystian Lewis (Monroe, La.; Wossman) was up to the task. He pulled the Wildcats within one, 68-67, by knocking down a jumper on the inbound pass. A few minutes later, he drove the lane and scored through a foul. He promptly hit the free throw, and the teams were tied at 70 apiece. He then followed with a perfect trip to the charity stripe, moving the Bears into fouling territory, 72-70. He knocked down four more free throws down the stretch to help PRCC secure the 79-79 victory.

LEADING THE WAY
Krystian Lewis finished with 22 points, scoring 20 in the second half. He also had four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Osby finished with 17 points and eight rebounds.

Sanders tallied 13 points, going 5-for-8 from the field and hitting a pair of 3-pointers. He also reeled in five rebounds and four steals. Mason Lewis scored 11 huge points to go along with three rebounds.

"This is what we've been waiting on from Mason," Oney said. "Without his 11 points and his energy, we don't win this one."

Joah Chappelle (Atlanta, Ga.; Dutchtown) tacked on 10 points and eight rebounds to round out those in double figures.

NEXT UP
The Wildcats head to Copiah-Lincoln on Monday for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff against the Wolves. The game will be livestreamed at colinathletics.com/watch.

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