Men's Basketball get blowout in 1st Dantzler Arena game

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast tested out the scoreboard in its first-ever game at Dantzler Arena, and the four-sided beast handled Monday's 105-59 blowout of Royal Ambassadors with aplomb.

The men's basketball team improved to 4-4 with the runaway victory to close out a first-day tripleheader.

"I don't just like it; I love it," Gulf Coast coach Tim Ryan said. "It's going to take a little getting used to. I thought it was great."

Demarcus Powe (Fr., Meridian/Meridian) settled nicely into the new gym, making 6-of-8 buckets from the 3-point arc to lead all scorers with 20 points. Jabarie Robinson (Fr., Raymond/Raymond) drew raves from Ryan for taking over at point after relieving starting point guard Donovan Sanders (So., Walls/Lake Cormorant). Robinson had eight assists against two turnovers and finished with 14 points.

Avery Carter (Fr., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) registered his first collegiate double-double with 13 points and an eye-popping 18 rebounds.

"Those are big numbers for a guy who's in his third game back," said Ryan.

Gulf Coast trailed 31-29 with 5:27 left in the first half before starting to pull away. The Bulldogs outscored the Lions 20-4 to close out the half. JaVon Anderson (So., Columbia S.C./Ridge View) hit a couple of 3-pointers in the run and finished with 16 points, making 4-of-6 behind the arc.

Gulf Coast opened the second half on a 20-6 run to put the game away.

"I told them the game is 90 percent from the neck up," Ryan said. "This game and the game before Christmas are tough games. These guys are already home. I thought to start the game, their heads weren't in the game. So, we had to make some substitutions, and we made some changes to the starting lineup for the second half."

Darius Dawson (So., Sumter S.C./West Florence) had 13 points and six rebounds. Sanders had 11 points and seven assists, and John Davis (Fr., Pascagoula/Pascagoula) had 10 points.

Seven of the eight Bulldogs who played Monday finished in double-digits.

Gulf Coast is off until after Thanksgiving. The Bulldogs entertain East Central on Nov. 28 in a non-conference game. Tipoff at Dantzler Arena is set for 6 p.m.

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