PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast jumped out of the blocks quickly against Meridian on Thursday night, but a first-half surge by the Eagles sent them to a 73-60 victory at the Weathers/Wentzell Center.

Qua'darius Green (So, McComb/McComb) led the Bulldogs with 20 points. Dedoch Chan (Fr, Rochester, Minn./John Marshall) had 15 despite fouling out with six minutes to play.

Gulf Coast falls to 8-4, 1-2 MACJC South, while Meridian improves to 4-8 with its first division win.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first 4:36 of play, but a 17-2 run by the Eagles put them up 23-13 midway through the half.

Gulf Coast trimmed the lead to four with 5:42 left in the half on back-to-back 3-pointers by Abdul Dial (So, West Palm Beach, Fla./Cardinal Newman) and Tavonn Tyson (Fr, Biloxi/Biloxi), but its deficit expanded to eight by halftime.

The Bulldogs never got closer than five points in the second half.

Gulf Coast returns to action Saturday in the snow-delayed game at East Central. Tipoff in Decatur is scheduled for 3 p.m. The Bulldogs return to action in Perkinston on Monday when Jones County visits for a 7 p.m. start.

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