Pearl River dominates rebounding to beat Jones and end three-game skid

POPLARVILLE, Miss. — Pearl River State College defeated Jones College 83-71 Thursday night at Marvin R. White Coliseum. The Wildcats outrebounded the Bobcats by 24 boards, a season high, and improved to 15-11 overall and 7-4 in the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference.

Jones fell to 20-8 overall and 9-3 in conference play. The Bobcats close out their home schedule Monday against Meridian at 7:30 p.m., on First State Bank Night.

The game started with Jones taking an early 8-4 lead at the 15:34 mark, with four different players scoring buckets. However, Pearl River responded with an eight-point run to take a 12-8 lead. The Wildcats pushed the lead to 11 points with just over four minutes remaining in the first half. Jones rallied with a 13-4 run, sparked by three-pointers from Keron Jackson and Dylan Rowe, to trail 36-34 at halftime.

In the second half, Pearl River opened with seven straight points to lead 43-34. Jones made a comeback, trailing 57-45 with 10:44 remaining, and responded with a 12-2 run, including five straight made shots, to cut the deficit to 59-57 on a three from Rowe. However, Pearl River pulled away with six consecutive points, sealing the win.

Daijon Leatherman led the Wildcats with 20 points and 22 rebounds, just one rebound shy of the team total. Christian Gilliland scored a game-high 27 points, and four Wildcats finished in double figures. Dylan Rowe led Jones with 18 points, followed by Jay Tyler with 16 and Braylon Barnes with 13. Pearl River was plus-24 on the glass and shot 25-of-30 free throws, compared to 12-of-14 for Jones.

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