A cold-shooting first 20 minutes spelled Mississippi Gulf Coast’s doom in its MACCC men’s basketball opener in Goodman. The Bulldogs battled back in the second half but lost 70-63 at Holmes.

 

Donovan Sanders (So., Walls/Lake Cormorant) led Gulf Coast with 18 points and seven rebounds, and JaVon Anderson (So., Columbia S.C./Ridge View) had 14 points.

 

Gulf Coast shot just 24.2 percent from the field in the first half, including 2-for-16 from behind the arc. They rallied from a 13-3 deficit early to tie it at 15, but Holmes went on an 18-4 run and led 37-21 at halftime.

 

The Bulldogs (6-7) missed a dunk trailing 53-50 with 8:26 to play, and Holmes (8-3) ripped off the next nine points. Idell Walton (Fr., Tampa Fla./SLAM Tampa) made two free throws with 57 seconds left to get the Bulldogs within 66-63, but Gulf Coast wouldn’t score again.

 

Darius Dawson (So., Sumter S.C./West Florence) registered his third double-double of the season with 10 points and 14 rebounds.

 

Gulf Coast returns to Dantzler Arena on Monday for its first conference home game. Tipoff against Jones is set for 6 p.m. The game will be streamed at https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch.

 

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