Gulf Coast downs North No. 1 Holmes in MACJC opener

FULTON – Down by double digits in the second half, Mississippi Gulf Coast had to solve one very vexing problem.

The Bulldogs had to slow down Holmes' Daryl Macon.

Gulf Coast did, reversing a 10-point deficit before surging to a 100-88 victory in the first round of the MACJC Tournament.

"We had some things where we just had the wrong guy guarding Macon out there," Gulf Coast coach Wendell Weathers said. "We just left him open. Once we got that fixed, our offense was good. They really didn't know how to guard our stuff, I didn't think. We just executed our offense."

Gulf Coast (19-5) ripped off a 21-6 run by holding Macon to five points in the last 12:48. The win was the third straight by a lower seed to open the tournament, which has seen both No. 1 seeds bounced.

Holmes (18-6) was the North No. 1. East Mississippi upended South No. 1 Pearl River 80-73.

Gulf Coast plays the winner of the Jones-Northeast game at 8 p.m. Wednesday. The winner advances to the finals Thursday at 8 p.m.

Davion Cole-Johnson led Gulf Coast with 25 points and eight rebounds.

"Right now, it doesn't mean anything," Cole-Johnson said. "We've got to win Wednesday. It's back to the drawing board. One game at a time."

Deshawn Jones had 23 points, nine assists and five rebounds.

Anfernee Hampton had 14 points, Dylan Causwell 13 and Eliel Gonzalez had 10. Gonzalez added eight assists off the bench.

"I thought Eliel did a helluva job," Weathers said. "If we can keep his head screwed on straight, he's a pretty good player. It's the days we don't know what planet he's on that we have to worry about. When he's down here on Earth, he's a pretty good player."

Macon finished with 33 points.

Causwell provided a lift for the Bulldogs at the end of the first half, scoring Gulf Coast's last five points. He had a baseline dunk off an assist from Gonzalez, got fouled and made the free throw.

"Dylan played very, very well," Weathers said. "We took him out one time, and I told Coach (Patrick) Wilcher, 'He's playing pretty well.' He said just give him a break. He was big from the beginning. He did a good job."

Causwell added a put-back at the buzzer to give Gulf Coast a 42-41 advantage.

"Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time situations," he said. "We had a lot of foul trouble, so I just had to go in there and make plays."

Fellow big men Peyton Owen and Tedrian Brisco fouled out, but Causwell picked up five rebounds in their stead.

Jones started Gulf Coast's comeback with a jumper, and Hampton's dunk off a sky-high alley-oop from Gonzalez tied it two minutes later.

Gonzalez picked Macon's pocket for a layup to give Gulf Coast an 80-75 lead with 7:40 left.

"I knew it was coming," he said. "When I was on the bench, he was doing the same move every time. I was waiting for that kind of half-spin move. I stayed there and waited for it."

Causwell's free throw with 2:21 left gave Gulf Coast a 10-point advantage, and when Jones drove the basket, scored and got fouled with 1:52 left, he sat on the floor and flexed in celebration.

"It felt like it was a dagger," he said.

Gulf Coast will try to recapture that final push for the semifinals Wednesday.

"The second half, once we got our stuff going, the last 12 minutes we were pretty good," Weathers said. "Hats off to our kids. They did a great job.

Quarterfinals recap: For a look at all the action from Monday, click here.