Porters Chapel’s modus operandi this season has been a simple one against smaller foes.

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Get the ball into 6-foot-5 center Jacob Rachal. Repeat. Repeat some more.

But on a night when Rebul Academy was able to keep Rachal from getting comfortable on the blocks by double-teaming him selectively, the Eagles found a new way to fly.

Point guard Colby Rushing scored 14 points and shooting guard Clayton Holmes, in his best game since returning to action last week, added 13 as PCA vanquished Rebul 48-41 on Thursday.

“I think we’re coming around a little bit more. I think we’re settling down a little bit more,” PCA coach E.J. Creel said. “I think we’ve found a combo that works pretty well.”

Rushing, according to Creel, has a habit of draining his first few shots and then struggling to make any more. But when her point guard missed his first, she thought that maybe he was due for a big night.

And he was.

“I guess I just caught on fire,” Rushing said. “Other nights, I miss one and get my head down. Tonight, I just kept my head up and just kept playing…hard.”

Rushing carried the offense out of the gate with six points. Rachal missed his first five shots, but finally scored on a pair of layups in the second quarter to cap a 13-2 run.

But Rebul closed what was a 10-point gap, thanks to the red-hot shooting of Doug Strong, whose smooth jumper accounted for 10 of Rebul’s 19 first-half points. He finished with a game-high 23 points. The Raiders whittled the Eagle lead to 22-19 at the break.

In the third quarter, the Eagles could not pull away with Rachal on the bench in foul trouble with four. The Eagles built their  biggest lead of the third at 28-21 when Rushing swished a floater in the lane and Wiley made a great steal and flicked a laser to Holmes for an easy layup.

Rebul’s Chris Shaw drained a 3-pointer and Strong converted a putback as the PCA lead swiftly evaporated. Before the third could end, Rushing converted a 15-foot jumper off the dribble to put the Eagles up 32-28.

In the fourth, Rachal, who finished with nine points, 10 rebounds and a block, converted a difficult 3-point play of sorts. He hit the first of two at the charity stripe, missed the second and scored on the putback to put PCA up seven. The Eagle lead would not drop below five for the rest of the quarter as PCA (6-12, 4-7) went into slowdown mode on offense and kept enough distance thanks to improved free throw shooting.

Rebul girls beat PCA, 45-35

Mikala Boyd scored a game-high 28 points to pace Rebul past PCA. Kory Miller scored 15 points for PCA.

Shelby Wells scored six points and had a game-high 12 steals for PCA.

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Contact Steve Wilson at swilson@vicksburgpost.com