Bulldogs fall just short of title

JACKSON — Mississippi Gulf Coast showed what its entire season was about in one game Friday night. Down 19 in the second half of the NJCAA Region 23 Men's Basketball Championship, the third-seeded Bulldogs fought back to take a lead late before falling 83-81 to top-seeded Jones.

Gulf Coast erased deficits all year long, and almost pulled the most meaningful one of them all at Kroger Gymnasium on the Tougaloo College campus.

"We've done it all year," emotional first-year Gulf Coast Owen Miller said. "These guys fight, man. I'm just so happy to be a part of this and where we're going. This one hurts, though. We were a rebound away, but I wouldn't trade this team for anybody. It's been a blast for me."

The Bulldogs finished 19-9 and three points from Hutchinson a year after going 11-15 and missing the postseason entirely. This year's squad was picked 11^th by the MACCC coaches and earned a third-place finish.

The Bulldogs were down 17:36 left but began chipping away. Omarion Smith (So., Atlanta Ga./Douglas County) made a layup with 14:42 to play to get the deficit under 10 points. Javeon Gordon (So., Mount Olive/Mount Olive) got it under five with 12:05 to play, making it 59-54.

Kaue Kalinowski (Fr., Curitiba Brazil/Divine Savior) got it to one with 8:30 to play, making a layup and a foul shot. Duran Parish (Fr., Biloxi/Biloxi) tied it at 75 with a layup with 3:05 left.

Jones scored the next five points, but Jabbari Barry (Fr., Lake Charles La./Barbe) nailed a 3 with 1:40 left, and another with 64 seconds to give Gulf Coast an 81-80 lead.

Jones took the lead on two free throws with 61 seconds left, and made it 83-81 with 4.6 seconds left.

The Bulldogs pushed a missed free throw up the court but had a 3-point shot blocked at the buzzer. Gulf Coast outscored Jones 51-39 in the second half, thanks to 51 percent shooting from the floor, including 50 percent from the arc.

"We shot 26 percent in the first half and 15 percent from 3," Miller said. "We missed eight shots at the rim in the first half. We got off to a slow start, and you just can't play from behind all night. We just needed a play here or there. We're going to have to earn that. From here on out, this program has to earn the right to win these games. We're going to get there."

Parish had 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Kalinowski and Barry had 14 each, and Davis scored 13. Smith had 11 points and eight rebounds despite foul trouble that limited him to 18 minutes.

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.

Jones 83, Gulf Coast 81

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