POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The Pearl River men's basketball team opened up the 2025-26 campaign in a commanding way Saturday afternoon inside Marvin R. White Coliseum, defeating Spring Hill JV 119-56.
"It was good for us to be in our gym, running up and down the floor trying to win a basketball game," head coach Chris Oney said. "Once we got our feet underneath us, we were really good in the second half."
Pearl River (1-0 overall) got off to a hot start, opening the game on an incredible 15-4 run, which featured an 10 points from Sienna signee Christian Gilliland (Memphis, Tenn.; ABC Prep).
Pearl River went up 18 points soon after, 27-9. The Wildcats reached the 25-point mark when Lazarus Mason (Atlanta, Ga.; Grayson) caught a pass on the right wing and drained a 3-pointer. Kelan Rich (Pascagoula) then forced a turnover on the defensive end that turned into a transition two-handed slam by Gilliland.
Daijon Leatherman (Slidell, La.; Legacy School of Sport and Sciences) used his 6-foot-9, 272-pound frame to some success to extend PRCC's lead to 42-23, backing down a defender before turning and softly laying a ball off the glass and in.
The final basket of the first half came courtesy of Reece Garrison (Olive Branch), who used a head fake to gain some space before draining a teardrop shot. He was fouled in the process and nailed the free throw, 55-30.
The Wildcats' domination continued in the second half — aided by a pair of early 3-pointers from Mason and Rich, 72-34. The Wildcats embarked on a 13-4 run afterwards, with the highlights being a coast-to-coast layup from Garrison and a corner 3-pointer off the hands of Devonta Thompson (Bogue Chitto), 86-38.
Gilliland helped the Wildcats reach the triple-digit mark, driving through some defenders and laying up a ball for the score, 100-44. Dalton Jackson (Booneville) followed him up with a layup of his own, 102-44.
The Wildcats continued to tack on points down the stretch, finishing the day with a 119-56 victory over Spring Hill JV.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Gilliland finished the afternoon with 22 points on 8-for-10 shooting, including 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Rich also had 22 points, achieving this on 9-for-11 shooting. He had six rebounds, six steals, five assists and two blocks.
"Kelan plays really well when he's locked in, being the best defender and a great rebounder," Oney said. "When that's his focus, it spills over to the offensive end."
Leatherman had a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double. He also tacked on four blocks. Garrison and Mason rounded out those in double figures with 14 and 13, respectively.
NEXT UP
Pearl River returns to action Monday at noon for its annual Kids Day contest against South Arkansas.
TICKETS
Basketball season tickets are available now for $103, granting access to all home regular-season games. Single-game tickets are $9 in advance and $11 on the day of the game. Tickets can be purchased at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets.
TUNE IN
All home Pearl River basketball games are livestreamed 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 X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).