Bulldogs exact revenge at Scooba

Mississippi Gulf Coast avenged a loss to East Mississippi early in the season by taking charge in the third quarter in Scooba on the way to a 61-53 win.

The Bulldogs (13-3) outscored the Lions 13-5 in the final seven minutes of the pivotal quarter to move to 7-0 in the MACCC. They've won nine straight.

"We put together three-and-a-half good quarters. The last five minutes, we got a little lax. Defensively, we were there all night. I watched us for most of the night get together and play defense and be good at both ends of the floor."

Taelar Felton (So., Clinton/Clinton) came off the bench to score 18 and lead Gulf Coast. Kately Brinkley () had 15, and Nautica Bouie (So., Panama City, Fla./Rutherford) added 11.

Gulf Coast moved a half-game in front of Pearl River atop the conference standings. The Wildcats play at Northwest Mississippi on Friday.

East Mississippi (5-15, 2-6) upset Gulf Coast 50-47 at Perk in November, and the Lions led by one after the first 10 minutes. The Bulldogs were up 32-26 at halftime before pulling away. They led by 20 with 6:10 left in the game before EMCC made things more interesting.

"We're starting to close out these quarters," Adams said. "I'm super proud of this team and how they're gelling together.  Hopefully, we can stay healthy. We want to be ready to make a run down the stretch."

The Bulldogs are back home Monday when Holmes visits. Tipoff at Dantzler Arena is set for 5:30 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.