MGCCC men lose regular-season finale

Mississippi Gulf Coast had a mid-second half dry spell against East Mississippi, and the Bulldogs could never claw their way back. The Lions won 80-75 in Scooba.

Gulf Coast (17-6, 9-5 MACCC) drops down into the sixth seed, and it appears the Bulldogs will face EMCC (18-5, 10-4) again in the first round of the state tournament on Tuesday.

The MACCC standings were turned upside down Thursday when Pearl River, which hadn't lost a game on the court, had six games in January forfeited because of an eligibility paperwork issue. The conference is expected to officially announce the location of the tournament, seeding and schedule on Friday. Northeast Mississippi will host the eight-team tourney.

Gulf Coast struggled in the half-court offense against East Mississippi. The Bulldogs trailed 53-51 with 11 minutes to play but got outscored 7-2 over the next five minutes and never got closer than three.

Melvion Flanagan (So., Peabody/Alexandria, La.) had 25 points to lead Gulf Coast, and he made all 10 of his free throw attempts. Gulf Coast was 13-of-13 from the charity stripe, but EMCC shot 25 and made 19.

Donovan Sanders (Fr., Lake Cormorant/Walls) was the only other Bulldog in double-digits with 11.

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