Fourth-seed Bulldogs entertain 12-seed Hinds

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast opens the NJCAA Region 23 Men's Basketball Tournament on Saturday at Dantzler Arena, and the Bulldogs will face a team they've split with this season.

The Bulldogs (23-6) are the fourth seed in the event, and they'll face No. 12 seed Hinds, which beat No. 5 Holmes 67-58 in Goodman on Thursday. Gulf Coast lost a non-conference game 88-85 at Hinds before Christmas but won the rematch 86-82 at Perk in MACCC play in January.

"They've got a lot of experience, and their guard play is really solid," Gulf Coast coach Owen Miller said. "They've got multiple guys who can score, so you can't go in thinking we have to stop one guy. They're good throughout their lineup."

Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m., and the game will be streamed at https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch.

The higher seeds host the region quarterfinals, with the winners advancing to the semis. Itawamba won the MACCC championship and has the inside track to host the three games that will determine who advances to Hutchinson. If ICC is upset, the highest-remaining seed will host.

The men's semifinals will be played Tuesday, with the championship decided Thursday.

Hinds is 17-14 after pulling the upset against Holmes. Terrance Clark leads Hinds scoring 14.4 points per game, with Austin Ratliff (13.9) and Daveon Henry (13.5) the other double-digit scorers.

Hinds snapped a 10-game Gulf Coast win streak on Dec. 12, so the Bulldogs will be on upset alert.

"Everybody is good at this stage of the game," Miller said. "We've got to do the things we do well. We've got to get little things from everybody. In the playoffs, everybody has to help."

NJCAA Region 23 Men's Basketball Tournament

March 5-13

First Round

Thursday, March 5

No. 9 Southern-Shreveport 109, No. 8 Northwest Mississippi 104

No. 12 Hinds 67, No. 5 Holmes 58

No. 10 Northeast Mississippi 61, No. 7 Coahoma 53

No. 6 Pearl River 80, No. 11 Copiah-Lincoln 56

Quarterfinals

Saturday, March 7

Southern-Shreveport at No. 1 Itawamba, 4 p.m.

Hinds at No. 4 Gulf Coast, 3 p.m.

Northeast at No. 2 Southwest Mississippi, 2 p.m.

Pearl River at No. 3 Jones, 6 p.m.

Semifinals

Tuesday, March 10

At Fulton (or highest seed remaining)

Finals

Thursday, March 12

At Fulton (or highest seed remaining)

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