Bulldogs tame Tigers to advance to title games

JACKSON — For Mississippi Gulf Coast, the proof is in the preparation. The Bulldogs' attention to detail is paying off, never more so than Thursday night.

Third-seeded Gulf Coast waxed second-seeded Northeast Mississippi 86-51 Friday to advance to the NJCAA Region 23 championship game. The Bulldogs will play top-seeded Jones in a game scheduled for 7 p.m. at Kroger Gymnasium here on the Tougaloo College campus. 

"Everybody has a game plan, but our guys are executing it," Gulf Coast coach Owen Miller said. "We're seeing it in our shootaround, we're seeing it the way we've prepared the last three or four weeks. They're locked in, and it's showing in the way we're playing. It's showing in the way we're defending. I'm just really proud of them."

Gulf Coast (19-9) held Northeast scoreless for nearly a six-minute stretch of the first half, outscoring the Tigers 15-0 on the way to a 40-15 halftime lead. NEMCC (27-5) made only 4-of-29 shots in the first half and were oh-fer on seven 3-point attempts.

The Tigers turned the ball over 17 times in the first half, succumbing to the Gulf Coast press time and time again.

"Defensively, we were as good as we've been," Miller said. "They missed some shots, too. I never thought they got in a good rhythm. There just weren't a lot of good looks for them, and we cleaned the backboards up pretty well. We turned them over and made shots. We're one game closer."

John Davis (So., Pascagoula/Pascagoula) came off the bench and led Gulf Coast with 16 points, including 4-of-9 from deep. Kaue Kalinowski (Fr., Curitiba Brazil/Divine Savior) had 15 points, and Duran Parish (Fr., Biloxi/Biloxi) had 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Omarion Smith (So., Atlanta Ga./Douglas County) missed a double-double by one rebound, scoring 13 points. He also had five steals and three assists.

Gulf Coast shot 48.6 percent from the field. The Bulldogs led by as many 39 late in the second half.

The Bulldogs must immediately turn their attention to their finals opponents. They'll be hoping to prove how difficult it is to beat a team three times in a year.

"We're going to have a real hard one tomorrow," Miller said. "Obviously, we've lost twice to Jones. They've got a fantastic team. They're well-coached, and they've won a bunch of games, but it's going to be a battle." 

NJCAA Region 23 Men's Basketball Tournament

First Round

Saturday, March 9

Higher seed hosts

No. 9 Baton Rouge 70, No. 8 Copiah-Lincoln 65

No. 5 Holmes 81, No. 12 East Central 69

No. 10 Pearl River 74, No. 7 Itawamba 64

No. 11 Meridian 100, No. 6 Southwest Mississippi 96

Quarterfinals

Monday, March 11

Higher seed hosts

No. 1 Jones 80, No. 9 Baton Rouge 75

No. 5 Holmes 81, No. 4 East Mississippi 68

No. 2 Northeast Mississippi 71, No. 10 Pearl River 55

Meridian at No. 3 Gulf Coast 88, No. 11 Meridian 82

Semifinals

Thursday, March 14

Kroger Gymnasium, Tougaloo College

Jackson, Miss.

Jones 73, Holmes 72

Gulf Coast 86, Northeast Mississippi 71

Finals

Friday, March 15

Kroger Gymnasium, Tougaloo College

Jackson, Miss.

Gulf Coast vs. Jones, 7 pm

For more information on MGCCC's 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.