Bulldogs run past Lawson State in 2nd half

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast trailed by double-digits early and were down nine at halftime, but the Bulldogs pushed the pace in the second half and ran past Lawson State 67-58 at Dantzler Arena.

Gulf Coast shot 50 percent behind the arc after halftime and a tick better than 50 percent from the field.

"We had some guys open, and we had the right guys taking the shots," Bulldogs coach Tim Ryan said. "I'm not sure we did that in the first half."

Demarcus Powe (Fr., Meridian/Meridian) shot 3-for-5 from behind the arc and finished with a game-high 17 points, leading four Bulldogs in double-digits. Javeon Gordon (Fr., Mount Olive/Mount Olive) finished with 14, including 4-of-6 from 3.

The Bulldogs trailed 31-22 at halftime, but a 9-0 run all on 3-pointers midway through the second half turned the tide and put them up 47-43. Anthony Robinson (Fr., Long Beach/Long Beach) had the first, followed by Gordon and Powe.

Darius Dawson (So., Sumter S.C./West Florence) had a second-straight double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. He also had four blocked shots, including a sensational first-half chase-down of a Cougar to stuff a dunk attempt. 

"That block was tremendous," Ryan said. "Darius was the first guy I talked about, and the second guy was Jabarie (Robinson). He was 0-for-5 from the 3-point line, but he dished out eight assists and had eight rebounds. That's a big night. He does a great job on the boards."

Robinson had 10 points, many on drives.

"We pushed the ball," Ryan said. "The first half, we weren't pushing the ball. We were running right into their matchup zone. Kids aren't used to playing against the matchup zone. We tried to practice it the day before, and we weren't getting guys open."

Gulf Coast has a quick turnaround for its next game. The Bulldogs entertain LSU Eunice at Dantzler Arena on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m., and the game will be streamed at https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch.

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