The PRC Blue Devils boys’ basketball team heads on the road for their first regular season game of the year at East Central.

Head Coach Kelton Thompson said last Saturday’s jamboree at Long Beach was a learning experience. 

“It served its purpose. Sometimes it’s hard to get a good gauge on things when you’re just practicing against each other so that was a nice change playing other schools,” Thompson said. “We got exposed in some areas. It was a good barometer of where we’re at—we need to get better in every phase.”

The Blue Devils played two quarters of basketball against Amite High School and then two against Long Beach. 

They won the scrimmage against Amite 17-10 and dropped their contest with Long Beach 27-18.

The first game PRC held Amite to six points through the first 14 minutes and then had some turnovers that led to them scoring some points later in the half, Thompson said. 

In the Long Beach game, they got off to a sluggish start offensively and didn’t handle the ball very well, he said. 

Thompson said they got down mentally and their intensity dropped as a result.

“Really the big thing is our ability to handle adversity. This is a new style of basketball for the guys; it’s a structured style in which we need to rely on each other. One of biggest hurdles is our mentality. We need to minimize the bad stretches, stay a little more focused and maximize the good stretches,” Thompson said.

Thompson was particularly encouraged by the way his two freshmen guards, Hayden Dunhurst and Willie Reece played.

“Going forward, I’m looking for us to be doing the things that we’re supposed to be doing and taking care of Pearl River Central. We need to do the things that we do every day in practice. More consistency is key,” Thompson said.