Bulldogs can’t close out upset bid on No. 10 PRCC

PERKINSTON — Down double-digits at halftime, and even more four minutes into play, Mississippi Gulf Coast tied it up late against No. 10 Pearl River.

The archrival Wildcats, however, pulled out a 71-68 win at the Weathers-Wentzell Center. 

"One of the things that changed was us playing together," Gulf Coast coach Tim Ryan said. "The first half, we were very selfish. We talked about it at halftime."

Gulf Coast (2-4) trailed 52-32 with 16:30 to play, then proceeded to tie it at 65 with 3:22 to play. The Bulldogs went on a 30-11 run over a 12-minute stretch to get to that point.

Jabarie Robinson (Fr., Raymond/Raymond) had 11 of his 16 points in that run, and Anthony Robinson (Fr., Long Beach/Long Beach) got his final bucket on a putback to also give him 16 for the night. 

Pearl River (5-1) made a couple of free throws, then a putback with 2:17 left, and the Bulldogs never got closer than two down the stretch.

Darius Dawson (So., Sumter S.C./West Florence) had a game-high 10 rebounds, just missing a double-double with nine points. Javeon Gordon (Fr., Mount Olive/Mount Olive) had 11 points, shooting 4-of-7 from the field.

Gulf Coast struggled in the first half dealing with the Wildcats' length, shooting just 27.8 percent from the field. The Bulldogs also made just 10-of-18 free throws, 55.6 percent.

"I think our guys, with the first night in front of a big crowd, guys kind of got into that and weren't sharing the ball," Ryan said. "We're a really good team when we play together." 

Gulf Coast is back in action Thursday at the Weathers-Wentzell Center. Tipoff against Baton Rouge at Perk is set for 6 p.m. The game will be streamed at https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch.

For more information on MGCCC's 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.