ODESSA, Texas — With the help of a strong second half, the Pearl River men's basketball team took No. 7 Midland College down to the wire before ultimately falling 75-70.   

"I don't believe in moral victories, but I'm also not selfish enough to ignore the fact that we grew today as a team," Pearl River head coach Chris Oney said. "I thought we took a step forward as we get ready for conference play in January." 

Pearl River (5-2 overall) got off to a slow start, falling behind 15-5 before Daijon Leatherman (Slidell, La. Legacy School of Sports and Sciences) hit a layup that sparked a 7-0 run against Midland (8-0). Kamarian Mayfield (Waynesboro; Quitman) followed with a layup of his own, and Reece Garrison (Olive Branch) scored through contact, drawing a foul and converting the and-one to complete the run and cut the deficit to 15-12. 

Midland responded with a layup on the next possession, but Mayfield added his second layup of the night before Midland hit a 3-pointer, and Garrison went one for two from the free-throw line, keeping Midland ahead 20-15. 

The Chaps then went on an 11-2 run, with Pearl River's only points coming on an Austin Fortune (Atlanta, Ga.; Dutchtown) layup. The Wildcats countered with a 6-0 run, highlighted by a Jayden Sampson (Cleveland, Cleveland Central) layup and two free throws, followed by a Mayfield layup off a Garrison assist, bringing the score to 23-33. 

Midland added a final layup before halftime, leaving Pearl River trailing 23-34 at the break. 

Pearl River opened the second half with a highlight finish from Leatherman, who muscled through three defenders for a layup. Midland answered quickly, but Gilliland caught fire, sparking a 7-2 burst with two free throws, a 3-pointer and a layup to trim the deficit to 41-32. 

Midland countered with a 6-2 run of its own, but Jason Talbert (Cleveland; Cleveland Central) finally broke through from deep, burying Pearl River's first 3-pointer of the night. His shot ignited a 14-4 Wildcat surge featuring three Gilliland layups, a Sampson score inside and two more 3-pointers from Talbert, which gave Pearl River its first lead at 51-50. 

Midland reclaimed the advantage with 9:45 left, and the teams traded punches until the Chaparrals strung together a 12-4 run to go up 66-57. Pearl River refused to fold as Gilliland scored at the rim, and Talbert drilled his fourth three of the game to cut it to 66-62. 

Midland hit one of two at the line, setting up another Gilliland layup and an Austin Fortune free throw to bring the Wildcats within two, 67-65. After another Midland bucket, Gilliland attacked from the corner for a driving score with 30 seconds left, trimming it to 69-67. 

Midland answered yet again, but Keelan Rich (Pascagoula) knocked down a jumper to make it 71-69 before four late free throws pushed the game out of reach. Gilliland added one last free throw with a second remaining as Pearl River fell in its first game in Odessa, 75-70. 

LEADING THE WAY 

Gilliland was electric after halftime, pouring in 24 of his 26 points while adding four rebounds and three assists in a standout performance for the Wildcats. 

Talbert delivered a major spark off the bench, finishing with 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc and grabbing four rebounds of his own. 

Mayfield set the tone early, leading Pearl River in the first half with six points and contributing four rebounds to showcase his two-way impact. 

NEXT UP  

Pearl River will continue the Odessa Wrangler shootout against host Odessa tomorrow at 7 p.m. 

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