Gulf Coast leads big early, holds on late

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast saw a huge second-half lead all but evaporate Thursday night, but the Bulldogs hung on and beat Delgado 75-67 at the Weathers-Wentzell Center.

"I'm glad we pulled it out," Gulf Coast coach Jason Harrison said. "We made some key stops. Hopefully, our freshmen grew up a little bit and learned how to finish games."

D'yasmond Booker (Fr., Pascagoula/Pascagoula) led Gulf Coast with 17 points, and Jayden McCorvey (Fr., Pascagoula/Pascagoula) added 13.

The Bulldogs (4-0) scored the game's first 13 points thanks to their pressure defense and aggressive offensive rebounding. They had a lightning-quick 9-0 run in a 57-second span late in the half that pushed the halftime lead to 44-23.

They would score a quick bucket to open the second half and push the lead to 23.

"We played like a typical team that doesn't have veteran leadership," Harrison said. "I told them at halftime that we couldn't play the score, and that's what we did coming out."

Delgado chipped away at the lead, and a 13-2 run would make it a 65-61 lead with 5:37 to play. Gulf Coast never let it get any closer, and Booker scored eight points down the stretch to ice the game.

"We lost focus," Harrison said. "We had some guys who started to hang their heads. They started getting down on themselves and we started making stupid turnovers. It's the same stuff we do in practice. We've got to find a way to correct that."

Gulf Coast doesn't play again until the MGCCC Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 25-26. The Bulldogs play Blessed IJN Prep the first day and Southern-Shreveport the second before taking the rest of the week off for the break.

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