Hot-shooting Bulldogs bound to 143-69 victory
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Royal Ambassadors | 37 | 32 | 69 |
|
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College | 86 | 57 | 143 |
PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast shot better than 60 percent from the field on Thursday night as the Bulldogs tipped off its 2024 schedule at Dantzler Arena by breezing past Royal Ambassadors 143-69.
"We scheduled that game on purposing coming back off a big break with three days of practice," Gulf Coast coach Owen Miller said. "The thing that stands out is seven guys double figures and 38 assists. We made 15 3-pointers and really shot the ball well."
Duran Parish (Fr., Biloxi/Biloxi) led all scorers with 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field, including 6-of-9 from behind the 3-point arc and adding eight assists. Omarion Smith (So., Atlanta Ga./Douglas County) grabbed a double-double with 26 points and 13 rebounds.
Gulf Coast (7-4) nearly got into triple digits in the first half, outscoring Royal Ambassadors 86-37. The Bulldogs made 10-of-14 3-pointers and shot 62.5 percent from there for the game.
Jabarie Robinson (So., Raymond/Raymond) was the third 20-plus scorer with 21. John Davis (So., Pascagoula/Pascagoula) had 17 points and five assists, and Jabbari Barry (Fr., Lake Charles La./Barbe) had 15 points and five assists. Javeon Gordon (So., Mount Olive/Mount Olive) added 12 points.
Larry Lee (Fr., Utica/Raymond) had 14 points and five rebounds in 18 minutes of action.
"Larry ended up 7-for-9 from the field," Miller said. "He can score down there. Sometimes he's a little bit too unselfish, and hopefully this will give him some confidence to score a little bit."
Gulf Coast, which saw every player who played score, had three more points in the first half as against Royal Ambassadors in 2021, but the pace slacked off and they didn't reach the total from that game, a 154-60 win.
The Bulldogs host the University of Mobile JV on Tuesday, the last tune-up before conference play opens Jan. 18 against Copiah-Lincoln.
For more information on MGCCC's 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
