Smith hat trick lifts MGCCC

PERKINSTON — C.J. Smith had a hat trick, and Mississippi Gulf Coast seized control early and pulled away for a 6-1 victory over Meridian on Friday night.

The Bulldogs (5-8, 2-4 MACJC South) kept their slim playoff hopes alive with the dominant performance. They'll need to win Tuesday at home against Jones and beat Southwest in Summit in the regular-season finale, plus get some help in other games, to make the postseason.

"It's a positive thing. Everybody got to play. Everybody some goals," Gulf Coast coach Chris Handy said. "More importantly, we got the win and are still in the playoff hunt. We need a couple results to go our way, but right now it's just keep winning."

Smith (So., Brampton Ontario/David Suzuki Secondary School) opened the scoring in the fourth minute, with Matt Roberts (Fr., Portsmouth England/Portsmouth Grammar School) adding the second four minutes later.

Smith's second came in the 20^th minute, and Chris Pasvantis (So., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) and Brayan Resendiz (So., Horn Lake/Horn Lake) scored before half for a 5-0 lead.

Meridian scored late in the second half before Smith closed out his hat trick in the 89^th minute.

Gulf Coast plays Jones at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Bary Thrash Field.

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