MGCCC Men surge past Eagles

Mississippi Gulf Coast late-season surge continues after the Bulldogs beat Meridian 80-69 on the Eagles home court. The Bulldogs have won five of its last six games and remain in third place in the MACCC men's basketball standings.

They put in a full shift on Monday to win their third straight.

"We played consistently throughout the game. We didn't have any lapses," Gulf Coast coach Owen Miller said. "That's kind of been our Achilles heel a little bit. For 40 minutes, we played pretty solid. We played sound defensively and did a good job on the glass."

Omarion Smith (So., Atlanta Ga./Douglas County) led the Bulldogs with 19 points, helping his team improve to 16-8, 8-4 MACCC.

"He had a lot of impact on both ends," Miller said. "He played better on Thursday, but he's had an issue with fouls. He's done a better job with that. I thought he dominated the game on both ends."

Gulf Coast led by as many as 13 in the first half and were up 39-31 at the break. They pushed the lead out to 21 with a 15-2 run to start the second half. 

Meridian falls to 13-11, 5-6.

Jabbari Barry (Fr., Lake Charles La./Barbe) had 16 points, Anthony Robinson (So., Long Beach/Long Beach) scored 14 and Larry Lee (Fr., Utica/Raymond) came off the bench for 12.

Staying in the top four of the standings is important, with those spots getting a bye in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament.

"We had four guys in double figures," Miller said. "We had a lot of ball movement. I'm really pleased with how we played. It's not an easy place to play. I think they were 10-2 in there. Any win in late February is good. The stakes continue to get higher."

Gulf Coast will get Thursday off, and the Bulldogs will celebrate Sophomore Night next Monday. Tipoff at Dantzler Arena is scheduled 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.