CLINTON – The Hinds Bulldogs defeated the Delgado Dolphins 81-74 in an overtime thriller last night at A.E. Wood Coliseum on the campus of Mississippi College.

The Bulldogs started off the game on fire and went into halftime leading the Dolphins 38-29.
Delgado responded back in the second half as they erased a 16-point deficit to take a 72-70 lead with under a minute remaining in the game.

"We need to do a better job of closing out games," said third-year head coach Yusef Fitzgerald. "We have had a few games now where we have had big leads and let the other team get back into it," added Fitzgerald.

The Bulldogs, however, would not go down without a fight. With less than 20 seconds remaining, Dontrell McQuarter (Baton Rouge, LA) drew a foul and sank both free throws to tie the game (72-72) and send it into overtime.

In overtime, the Bulldogs went on a 9-2 scoring run to capture the 81-74 victory over the Dolphins.

"I am proud of the guys who got a chance to play significant minutes tonight that they normally would not get with three of our potential starters out. That next-man up mentality is always crucial to a team's long-term success, and our guys showed we have that," said Fitzgerald.

With the overtime victory, the Bulldogs improve to 3-1 overall on the season.

"We need to stay focused on getting better every day and continue to cultivate our identity. It is a long season, and good teams peak in February," said Fitzgerald.

The Bulldogs will ride a two-game win streak into next Thursday (Nov. 14) when they take on the Holmes Community College Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. on the road in Goodman.
 
Hinds top performers vs. Delgado
Freshman guard Jordan Johnson (Memphis, TN) scored 22 points and made a career-high, five three-pointers.

Sophomore forward Dontrell McQuarter (Baton Rouge, LA) finished with a double-double as he had 16 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists.

Sophomore center Eric Stimage (Utica) also finished with a double-double as he collected 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Sophomore forward Jerrez Porter (Jackson) tallied 11 points and five rebounds.