Bulldogs gut out win at Scooba

Mississippi Gulf Coast bounced back from a loss in its MACCC opener to even its conference record with a comeback 71-62 win at East Mississippi.

The Bulldogs stuttered offensively in the first half before a late spurt gave them some life headed into the locker room. A better all-around second half saw them outscore the Lions 44-29 after the break.

"I'm really pleased with how they responded (to the Copiah-Lincoln loss)," Gulf Coast coach Owen Miller said. "This was a product of our preparation the last two days. It was laser-like focus, and I thought we had our chip back tonight. I didn't think we played with a chip on Thursday."

Gulf Coast (9-5) got 19 points from Jabarie Robinson (So., Raymond/Raymond), and Jabbari Barry (Fr., Lake Charles La./Barbe) added 17.

Down 31-20 with 97 seconds left in the half, Robinson scored a bucket, and Kaue Kalinowski (Fr., Curitiba Brazil/Divine Savior) got a layup. Robinson's drive scored a bucket and drew a foul with 38.7 seconds left. He made the free throw to cap a 7-0 run in 59 seconds and give Gulf Coast life.

Barry shot the Bulldogs into the lead in the second half. He hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 39-35 at the 14:10 mark, then got an and-one to make it 41-38. After Omarion Smith (So., Atlanta Ga./Douglas County) scored in the lane, Barry's jumper from the right elbow put Gulf Coast up 42-41.

After EMCC (3-13, 0-2 MACCC) went back in front, he nailed a 3-pointer to tie it at 47-47.

"When he sees a couple go in, he's hard to deal with," Miller said. "He kinda carried us offensively there for about four minutes."

Barry hit another from the top of the key with 8 minutes to play to put Gulf Coast up 54-52, and the Bulldogs would never surrender the lead.

"We kept the ball in front of us much better in the second half," Miller said. "They shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and 26 percent in the second half. We weren't in rotations as much in the second half, and that paid off well for us. It made it easier for us to rebound, too."

Gulf Coast also reversed a cold-shooting first 20 minutes by making half their shots in the second half, including 5-of-10 from the 3-point line. That got them into their press more consistently, and they finished with 25 points off turnovers.

Smith had 15 points and seven rebounds, and Barry led Gulf Coast with six assists.

Gulf Coast returns to Dantzler Arena on Thursday to play Holmes. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at http://mgcccbulldogs.com/tickets, and 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.