MGCCC Sports Information

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast missed a golden opportunity Thursday to move into a tie for the final automatic berth in the men’s basketball postseason, falling 83-76 to Southwest Mississippi at Dantzler Arena.

 

The Bulldogs, who also missed out on moving back to .500 overall and in the MACCC, led by as many as 12 in the first half and were up 67-66 with 7:17 left but couldn’t hold on.

 

Donovan Sanders (So., Walls/Lake Cormorant) led Gulf Coast with 22 points and six assists. Darius Dawson (So., Sumter S.C./West Florence) had 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds before fouling out late.

 

JaVon Anderson (So., Columbia S.C./Ridge View) had 16 points, and Jabarie Robinson (Fr., Raymond/Raymond) scored 10 in the second half to get to 13.

 

Gulf Coast shot 48.4 percent from the field, but couldn’t get Southwest slowed down. The Bears shot nearly 53 percent, including making 6-of-12 behind the arc in the second half. The Bulldogs made only 1-of-9 from the 3-point line after halftime.

 

Gulf Coast is now 11-13, 5-7 MACCC. The Bulldogs are in a three-way tie Holmes and Coahoma for ninth in the conference, a game behind Northeast Mississippi. Three games around the state were postponed because of conditions associated with bad weather, with the Jones-East Central game potentially having an impact on that eighth-place battle.

 

Southwest is now 15-10, 8-5.

 

Gulf Coast hits the road for the final time in the regular season Tuesday. The Bulldogs will be playing Copiah-Lincoln in Wesson. Sophomore Night at Dantzler Arena will be Thursday when East Mississippi visits.

 

For more information on MGCCC’s 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.