Gulf Coast inches out Co-Lin in tight MACJC matchup

PERKISTON, Miss. - Co-Lin's Dajon Whitworth's three-point attempt at the buzzer rimmed out as the horn sounded allowing Mississippi Gulf Coast to remain undefeated with a 63-61 win over the Wolves on Thursday night. The loss drops the Wolves to 5-6 overall and to 0-2 in MACJC South Division play and improves the Bulldogs to 10-0, 2-0. The Wolves look to turn around quickly as the team plays host to the East Central Warriors on Monday, January 13 in Mullen Gymnasium at 7:30 p.m. Fans can keep up with the action by watching live at colinathletics.com/watch or by listening live at WMJU 104.3 FM in Brookhaven. 

The Bulldogs took an early lead over Co-Lin, 6-0, in the opening minutes and quickly gained momentum and rhythm, but a big three-pointer from Co-Lin's Demarcus Ellzey kept the lead in check and helped the Wolves gain their footing. Midway through the opening half, Gulf Coast grew their lead to nine, 19-10, but some big shots from Cameron Woodall, Lance Madison, and another long ball Ellzey cut the lead to just four, 21-17. The Bulldogs responded to the push with back-to-back three-pointers to pull the lead into double digits where it remained until the final minutes of the first half. Co-Lin closed out the half with an 8-0 run led by Madison and Whitworth to cut the lead to five, 37-32, going into the break. 

Gulf Coast chipped away in the second half and grew their lead to 11, 53-42, at the 10:52 mark. With five minutes to play, the Wolves had cut the lead to eight, 62-54. A pair of layups, one a second-chance basket, from Woodall and another from Darrius Kent cut the Bulldogs' lead to just two, 62-60 with 2:26 to play. After some free throws, the score sat at 63-61 with 10.1 seconds remaining. The Wolves had a go-ahead three-pointer, but the shot rattled out at the buzzer, giving Gulf Coast the win. 

Woodall and Madison led the Wolves with a pair of double-doubles. Woodall finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Madison posted 11 points and 11 boards and a team-high five assists. Ellzey, who finished 3-for-7 from three-point ranged added nine points off the bench, while Whitworth also finished with nine. 

D'yasmond Booker led Gulf Coast with 18 points and 11 boards, while Jayden McCorvey finished with 14 points. 

The Wolves shot 40 percent (23-of-57) from the floor, 20 percent (4-of-20) from three-point range, and 44 percent (11-of-25) from the free-throw line. The Bulldogs shot 43 percent (23-of-54) from the floor, 33 percent (6-of-18) from downtown, and 65 percent (11-of-17) from the stripe. The Wolves outrebounded the Bulldogs 47 to 32 but lost the turnover battle 15 to 11.