Bulldogs win MACCC opener at Meridian

Mississippi Gulf Coast opened its MACCC men's basketball schedule with a road victory Monday night, cruising at Meridian to a 73-57 win.

The Bulldogs had four players in double digits, led by Zakariyya Dwight (Fr., Cordele, Ga./Crisp County) with 15 points.

"I thought we had a really good first half," Gulf Coast coach Owen Miller said. "The second half, we let off the gas a little bit, but I was pleased defensively. We were really good. We fouled a little bit too much, but overall defensively we had a good effort."

Gulf Coast (14-2) led 44-23 at halftime and never looked back. Meridian (8-9) lost 84-59 in the team's first meeting of the season at Perkinston in November.

Maddox Noblitt (Fr., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) had 14 points, and Matthew Hinton (So., Atlanta, Ga./Dutchtown) had 12. Za'Kariyea Hamilton (So., Jackson/Clinton) added 10.

Hinton had three dunks in the first five minutes to help set the tone.

"He got us going," Miller said. "He's been really good since the break, and I think he's got a little confidence. His preparation has been really, really good, so he's reaping rewards off that. He was big for us, especially in that first half, getting us going and making some plays, getting some easy buckets. That was big for us."

Gulf Coast, which is receiving votes in the NJCAA rankings, plays what might be its biggest game of the regular season Thursday at Perk. No. 20 Jones visits, looking to avenge a loss in the teams' first meeting. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at http://mgcccbulldogs.com/tickets, and the game will be streamed at https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch.

For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.