January 15, 2010

Picayune "steals" one from Pearl River Central 53-51

by Carey Meitzler

Picayune--Down 50-43 with 2:27 to play, the Maroon Tide rallied using four steals and strong offensive

rebounding to overcome Pearl River Central in heart-stopping fashion 53-51 at Kelly Wise Memorial

Gymnasium. The win moved Picayune's record to 2-1 in region play and 9-8 overall.

Marvin Richmond scored on a 14 foot jump shot with 2:05 left to cut the lead to 50-45.  Vince Gable stole

the ball at half court and went down to score cutting the PRC lead to 50-47 with 1:50 left.    PRC's Jordan

Fairconentue was fouled and made one of two free throws with 1:45 left.   Scotty Merrill scored for the

Maroon Tide with 1:24 left to cut it to 51-49.  

Pearl River Central moved the ball to half court and called timeout with 1:16 left.    The Blue Devils

inbounds pass was stolen by Merrill and Picayune raced down the court.  Justin Mark scored on a put

back of a missed shot to tie the game 51-51 with :51 left.    After the basket by Mark, the Blue Devils

turned the ball over on another steal by Merrill near half court.  Merrill passed the ball to Marcus Rawls

who turned and passed to Mark who scored on a 6 foot jump shot from the baseline to give Picayune

a 53-51 lead with :16 to play.

The Blue Devils raced up the court and got two close range shots at the basket, but before a third attempt

could be made, Mark stole the ball along the baseline and was fouled with :01 left.  Mark missed the front

end of the one and one opportunity and the ball went out of bounds as both teams scrambled to get possession.  

The ball belonged to PRC with :00.7 left.  After a timeout, the Blue Devils attempted an inbounds pass that

bounced off a ceiling rafter and Picayune got the ball back and inbounded the ball to end the game.

Pearl River Central led 11-9 after one quarter, but Picayune took a 22-21 lead on Rontae Magee's put back

of a missed shot with :01 left in the second quarter.   The Blue Devils led 33-31 after three quarters.

Derionne Stewart scored 14 points and grabbed 8 rebounds before fouling out with 2:25 left.  Stewart kept the

Maroon Tide in the game by scoring 8 points in the fourth quarter before his departure on fouls. Gable, who

was plagued with foul trouble the first half, scored 11.  Justin Mark finished with 8 points and 6 rebounds. 

Marcus Rawls had 5 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocked shots. 

Pearl River Central had three players in double figures with Andre Broadwater leading the way with 16 points

including 10 of 12 from the free throw line.  Dennan Seal finished with 14 points with two 3 pointers while

Fairconetue had 12 points and three 3 pointers.

Lady Tide 46  Pearl River Central 26

Trailing 11-10 early in the second quarter, Picayune turned up their defense a notch and went on a 13-0 run

holding PRC scoreless for 4:30 to take a commanding 25-12 halftime lead and went on to claim a 46-26 win. 

The Lady Tide is now 14-5 overall and 2-1 in region play.

Keanna Magee dropped in 13 points and Shoronda Jackson had 10 points and 8 rebounds. 

Mel McGill added 9 points and Andrea Jackson had 8.

Megan Calcote had 10 points, Bria Pitts scored 8, and Sarah Kerry tallied 6 points for the Lady Blue

Devils (3-15, 0-2).