Senior Brannon Morris led the second ranked Patriots with 17 points as Prep improved to 20-3 which sets up a huge matchup this Saturday as top ranked MRA visits Jackson Prep. "We're looking forward to the challenge," said Prep head coach David Horner. “MRA has been at the top for some time and they’re ranked number one for a reason.”
Last night the Presbyterian Bobcats were looking to avenge a 51-49 loss to Prep back on January 5th in Jackson. Prep got out to an early 6-3 lead following a Lawrence Martin drive and lay-in at the 6:48 mark of the opening quarter. Presbyterian tied things up at 7-7 on a Hunter Hawkins basket in the paint and then grabbed their first lead at 8-7 on a Hayden Eustachy free throw with 5:08 left in the quarter. With both squads tied at 14-14 Presbyterian finished the quarter with a Eustachy 3-pointer from the wing with 24 seconds left to take a 17-14 lead after one quarter of play.
(Above) James Akers (#5) of Presbyterian drives on Cody McCain (#25) and Brannon Morris (#10) of Jackson Prep
Neither team managed more than a four point advantage in a second quarter that produced a tie and seven lead changes. Presbyterian went up 28-24 on a Gage Garner lay-in plus one with 3:38 left in the first half but Prep answered as Brannon Morris nailed a 3-pointer from the corner and converted on two free throws to give Prep a 29-28 lead. The Bobcats regained the lead as Gage Garner hit four free throws in the last 20 seconds of the half to send both teams in the locker-room with Presbyterian clinging to a 36-35 advantage.
Both squads started the second half much the same as the first and just under three minutes into the quarter the game was knotted up at 41-41. Prep then held Presbyterian scoreless the remainder of the quarter en-route to a 10-0 run in which four different players scored to put the Patriots up 51-41 with one quarter remaining. 
(Above) Presbyterian's Hayden Eustachy (#1) led the Bobcats with 16 points
Hunter Hawkins went glass to start the fourth quarter for Presbyterian but Prep began to stretch the lead as Brannon Morris and Ben Lane hit 3-pointers from the wing to give Prep a 57-45 advantage at the 5:47 mark. Pack Toler’s driving bucket and another 3-pointer from Lawrence Martin gave the Patriots their biggest lead at 62-45 halfway through the final quarter as Jackson Prep went on to take a 71-51 win.
“We have lots of seniors with experience and tonight our guys finished strong,” said Horner. “This was a big road win for us and it insures us a number one seed heading into tournament play.”
Brannon Morris led Prep with 17 points, Lawrence Martin added 11, Pack Toler 10, Cody McCain 9, Emmett Manning 7, Drew Carter 6, Ben Lane 3 and De Graeber 2.
Presbyterian was led by Hayden Eustachy with 16 points, Gage Garner added 9, James Akers 8, Mitchell Moore 5 and Hunter Hawkins 4.
The Bobcats fell to 15-5 and will travel to Purvis on Saturday.
JP…14…21…16..20…71
PC…17…19…5….10…51
