Bulldogs battle No. 4 Wildcats on the road

Mississippi Gulf Coast gave No. 4 Pearl River a scare Thursday, cutting a big second-half deficit to three with eight minutes to play and losing 75-69 at Poplarville.

Anthony Ratliff (So., Jackson/Terry) had a double-double for the Bulldogs with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Melvion Flanagan (Fr., Alexandria La./Peabody) also had 18 and grabbed six rebounds, with Calvin Johnson (So., Long Beach/Long Beach) and Rodrique Massenat (So., Trenton N.J./Trenton Catholic) getting 12 each.

Gulf Coast is now 3-4 overall, 1-4 in the MACCC South, but the Bulldogs gave PRCC (5-0, 4-0) everything it wanted on the way to a 33rd straight win.

The Bulldogs trailed by 14 at halftime and 19 less than two minutes into the second half before starting to rally. They got the deficit down to 58-55 on a layup by Carr Thiam (Fr., Tampa Fla./Wharton) with 7:33 to play.

Gulf Coast plays its first home division game since the end of February on Monday when East Central visits. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. so the Warriors can beat a winter storm hitting the area that night.

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