Neely caps furious rally with game-winner

Mississippi Gulf Coast needed the last tilt of the teeter-totter to go their way on Monday against Hinds, and Dilly Neely jumped on the Bulldogs' end of the seesaw to give them their 13th win of the season.

His floater in the lane with 6.2 seconds left gave Gulf Coast a 70-69 win at Utica where his team scored the last six points in the final 90 seconds.

"We played tough," Gulf Coast coach Jason Harrison said. "We played with a lot more intensity. We tried to follow the game plan and did well after we didn't get it done against Jones at home."

MGCCC (13-2, 5-2 MACJC South) took over sole possession of first in the division after trailing by double-digits early in the second half. The Bulldogs battled back to take a lead midway through the period. Hinds (9-5, 4-3), though, surged back in front on a steal and dunk with 2:15 to play to make it 66-64.

After another Gulf Coast turnover, Hinds hit a 3-pointer for a five-point bulge. The Bulldogs found Justin Minter (Fr., Wenonah/Birmingham, Ala.) alone in the lane with 66 seconds left, then forced a turnover on the inbounds play.

Jayden McCorvey (Fr., Pascagoula/Pascagoula) weaved through the Hinds defense on a drive with 54.9 seconds left to make it 69-68.

Hinds missed a shot on its next possession, and the possession arrow when the Bulldogs' way with 22.7 to play. The ball wound up in Neely's hands at the top of the key, and he drove for the winner.

"It's a shot he's always worked on, the floater, and we were very fortunate it went down," Harrison said. "I think that was the only shot he hit, and it was big."

A desperation shot by Hinds missed and Gulf Coast had broken a two-game losing skid.

D'yasmond Booker (Fr., Pascagoula/Pascagoula) returned with a vengeance from a one-game suspension for picking up two technical fouls. He scored 29 points to lead Gulf Coast after a heart-to-heart talk with Harrison, where the coach told his player he'd let himself down and let his team down.

"He looked me dead in the eye and said, 'Yes, sir,'" Harrison said. "From the get-go, I knew he had a fire in his belly."

McCorvey added 13 for Gulf Coast, which has won the last 21 times its played Hinds dating back to the 2010 season.

Gulf Coast travels to Decatur on Thursday to play at East Central. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

For more information on MGCCC's 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.