Bulldogs blitz Meridian by 30

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast's stifling defense held another opponent in check Thursday when the Bulldogs cruised past Meridian 72-42 at the Weathers-Wentzell Center.

"I thought our defense again was pretty dominant," Gulf Coast coach Wendell Weathers said. "We did a pretty good job of controlling the boards. Defensively, its' hard to find any fault. We gave up 24 points in one half and 18 in the other."

The 42 points allowed was the fewest Gulf Coast has allowed this season. The Bulldogs came into the contest with the nation's third-stingiest defense, and the average points allowed will dive below 60. They've held their last five opponents to 65 points or less.

Another balanced scoring night saw Dillyn Neely (Fr., Biloxi/Biloxi) come off the bench and lead the Bulldogs with 13. Tafari Simms (Fr., Hamilton, Ontario/Lincoln Prep), Keevon Oney (So., Gulfport/Gulfport) and Willie Logan (So., Brookhaven/Northwest Rankin) each had 10 points.

Gulf Coast led 34-24 at halftime, but felt unlucky.

"We told them at halftime, we're up 10 and happy to be up 10, but considering everything we missed at the rim, we should have been up a lot more," Weathers said. "When we got those in the second half, we finished them."

Six of the Bulldogs' first seven baskets in the second half came on drives or dunks, with Logan's drive at the 13:45 mark putting his team up 50-30. The Bulldogs steadily pushed that advantage out, with the biggest lead being their last.

Gulf Coast (12-1, 4-0 MACJC South) now faces a huge showdown Tuesday against archrival Pearl River. The Wildcats are undefeated in 13 games, the only undefeated team in the country, and the teams are tied atop the division standings.

"Pearl River is good," Weathers said. "They're undefeated, so they're a quality ballclub. We've got four days to get ready for them, so we're going to do the best we can to get ready for them."

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