Bulldogs drop MACCC opener at home

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast rallied from a double-digit deficit in the first half to lead midway through the second, but the Bulldogs lost the MACCC men's basketball season-opener 75-71 to Copiah-Lincoln.

Cold shooting and poor rebounding proved too much to overcome for Gulf Coast (8-5). The Bulldogs shot 35 percent from the floor and got outrebounded by 14 at Dantzler Arena.

Omarion Smith (So., Atlanta Ga./Douglas County) had an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double for Gulf Coast. Jabbari Barry (Fr., Lake Charles La./Barbe) made 5-of-9 from the 3-point line to finish with a team-high 19 points.

Co-Lin (9-4) used a 14-0 run to take a lead midway through the first half, eventually extending it to 32-20 with 6:27 to play.

The Bulldogs press wreaked some havoc, though, and they used a 13-4 run late to head into the locker room down 38-33.

Gulf Coast ripped off a 12-0 run early in the second half to take a 55-48 lead and was up by three with 8:09 to play. Co-Lin scored 17 of the final 27 points to win it.

The Bulldogs had the ball down by three in the final minute but missed a 3-pointer.

Anthony Robinson (So., Long Beach/Long Beach) had 15 points, and Duran Parish (Fr., Biloxi/Biloxi) had 14.

Gulf Coast, which had a six-game win streak snapped, heads to Scooba on Monday to play East Mississippi. Tipoff is set for 7:30 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.