Men’s Basketball tips off Friday

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast tips off the 2025-26 men's basketball season on Halloween, the first of two games in the Pensacola State Classic on consecutive days.

Coach Owen Miller has his third Bulldogs squad ready to go, and they'll play Coastal Alabama-South in the opener at 5 p.m.

"We're more athletic, and we're faster," he said. "We're bigger physically. We've got good guard play, and we've got an All-Region player returning in Duran Parish at point guard."

Gulf Coast finished 17-12 last season, qualifying for the postseason again. Miller's squad will be looking to improve on a seventh-place finish in the MACCC where they went 7-7.

The Bulldogs will play the hosts Saturday at 5 p.m., and their first home game will be Tuesday when Baton Rouge Post-Grad visits Dantzler Arena. They'll open MACCC play in January.

Parish (So., Biloxi/Biloxi) returns after earning All-NJCAA Region 23 honors as a freshman in 2023-24. He averaged 15.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.4 steals and 2.3 steals.

He'll be joining three returners from last year's team. Matthew Hinton (Fr., Atlanta, Ga./Dutchtown), a 6-foot-9 forward, is bigger and in better shape after a preseason injury last year put him behind the curve. Avan Wilson is a third-year Bulldog who was a big contributor, and fellow guard Za'Kariyea Hamilton (Fr., Jackson/Clinton) averaged almost nine points a game as a freshman

"He's really gotten stronger," Miller said. "He's improved in every aspect of his game, and his decision-making has gotten better. He shoots the ball really well. We need him to have a big year shooting the ball, and he's really worked hard studying film to become a really good defensive player."

Zakariyya Dwight (Fr., Cordele, Ga./Crisp County), a 6-foot-6 forward, is a fast, athletic wing who finishes at the rim and can shoot the 3-pointer. He also features as an alley-oop target. Jaron LeMelle (Fr., Birmingham, Ala./Langston Hughes), a 6-foot-7 forward, is a unique passer who can play inside or out. Kelinee Stone (Fr., Baton Rouge, La./Woodlawn) is a 6-foot-6 forward from Baton Rouge who has surprised the coaching staff with his 3-point shooting.

"He's going to give us something different," Miller said. "At that spot, when you've got a guy who can post and then he's a very capable 3-point shooter, it really adds to what you do offensively."

The Bulldogs have a Clarion-Ledger Dandy Dozen player in combo guard Maddox Noblitt (Fr., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs). He's got Gulf Coast in his blood, as his grandfather Mike is in the school's Athletics Hall of Fame.

King George (Fr., Olive Branch/Olive Branch), a 6-foot-4 forward, is described by Miller as a throwback player who can play all over the floor.

Cledarius Ross (Fr., Pascagoula/Pascagoula) is a strong guard who redshirted with the Bulldogs last year. Dakeith Quinn (Fr., Picayune/Picayune), a 6-foot-2 forward, is a jack of all trades.

There's been a lot of turnover in the MACCC, so the Bulldogs hope to be battling for a top seed in the Region 23 Tournament. They were within one win of a trip to the national tournament two years ago, and that's always a goal.

"We will be a lot better physically," Miller said, "and I think you'll see that throughout the season." 

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