Bulldogs rally past Co-Lin men
Published 6:00 am Tuesday, December 5, 2000
WESSON – With 8:33 remaining in the game, Co-Lin held a 58-50lead over their South Division counterparts from the MississippiGulf Coast. The Wolfpack had overcome a 17-point deficit to reclaimthe lead.
A change in the Bulldog game plan at this point and a 24-10surge over those final minutes propelled them to a 74-68come-from-behind win over the Wolves.
Co-Lin dropped to 6-2 overall and 0-1 in the South Division,while the Bulldogs improved to 7-3 and 1-0.
The Wolves will play host to Coahoma on Saturday night. Gametime is set for 8 p.m.
Gulf Coat 74, Co-Lin 68
‘”This was a great win for us, especially when you come uphere,” said Bulldog head coach Bob Weathers following the game.
Gulf Coast, with the height advantage, boasted their version ofthe “Twin Towers.”Nerijus Lisaukas, a 6-10 freshman center fromLithuania; and 6-11 freshman forward Andriy Sukhotin, from theUkraine; towered over the Wolves.
Co-Lin, under the direction of Dennis Sims, countered with 6-8freshman center Quentin Christian, 6-5 sophomore forward MarcusCalcote and 6-5 sophomore forward Brandon Dickerson.
The Wolves held their own against the taller visitors from thecoast, but it was the guard play of the Bulldogs that aided theirwin.
At the 7-minute mark of the first half, the Bulldogs had jettedout to a 30-13 lead on a jumper by freshman Marquez Moultrie, aBiloxi native who had the hot hand on the night. He pumped in 11points in the half as Gulf Coast held on to a 35-26 halftimelead.
Moultrie led all scorers with 31 points, including five 3-pointbaskets.
Co-Lin opened the second half with a 30-15 run to take a 58-50lead with 8:33 left in the contest. Calcote, a 6-5 forward fromNatchez, scored the first 7 points of the half to cut the Wolfpackdeficit to two at 35-33 with 18:09 left on the clock. Calcotescored 14 of his team-high 18 points in the stretch.
After a Co-Lin timeout, Gulf Coast switched to a 2-3 zonedefense and went on a 24-10 run to pick up the win.
“We switched to a 2-3 zone at this point to try and shake upthings,” added Weathers. “We usually play a lot of zone.”
Sims felt the zone was the key to the game.
“The zone took the sting out of us,” said Sims. “For somereason, we haven’t played well against them.”
Co-Lin last led 65-63 with 3:28 left in the game. Calcote fouledMoultrie on a successful 3-point try and he completed a rare4-point play at the 2:52 mark.
Guard Barry Whitley canned a trey with 20 seconds left on theclock to pull the Wolves within two at 70-68. Free throws by GulfCoast and several failed attempts at the basket by Co-Lin came upshort.
Calcote provided 9 rebounds and 3 steals. Rod Haynes dished out6 assists.
Freeman Taylor, brother of Ole Miss football and basketballplayer Syniker Taylor, added 20 points for the Bulldogs.