Gulf Coast faces critical showdown with rival PRCC

PERKINSTON – The MACJC South Division race for the state tournament is extraordinarily tight. Five teams are within a game of first place with three to play.

Mississippi Gulf Coast has a very simple formula to survive the scramble.

"We've gotta win," Bulldogs coach Wendell Weathers said. "If you can win all three games, you're probably going to finish second with an outside shot of being tied for first."

Gulf Coast (16-4, 7-4 South) is a game back of Pearl River (14-6, 8-3), which is tied with Jones for the division lead. The teams play Thursday at the Weathers/Wentzell Center in a White Out game. Fans are encouraged to wear white to support the Bulldogs. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m.

The Bulldogs won the first meeting between the teams, an overtime thriller 105-97. Another win would give Gulf Coast an important tiebreaker over Pearl River, one it also has against East Central.

Weathers figures the Bulldogs will finish first or second with three wins, will clinch a spot in the top four and a berth in the playoffs with two wins, but would likely be out only picking up one win.

"You've got one game that separates five teams from first to fifth," Weathers said. "It's a coin toss. It comes down to who wants it the most, who plays hardest, who plays best and maybe who's the luckiest."

East Central and Southwest are the other two teams tied with Gulf Coast for third in the division.

"It's one of those deals where you're coming down the homestretch neck and neck and you don't really know what's going to happen."

Gulf Coast closes out the regular season at Hinds on Tuesday and against Co-Lin on Feb. 18 in Perkinston.

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