Commodores overcome slow start, edge past FCP in opener
PANAMA CITY — Last year's home opener for Gulf Coast featured a lethargic Commodore performance saved in part by some hot shooting from Jammy Pierre-Louis in an otherwise unremarkable effort.
Monday night's regular season opener at the Billy Harrison Field House was a near carbon copy of that night, though Pierre-Louis wasn't quite as hot, and the Commodores' escape wasn't quite as comfortable.
Pierre-Louis made 5-of-11 threes to score a game-high 22 points and lead Gulf Coast to an 84-78 victory over the visitors, who wore the Commodores' home white uniforms after forgetting to bring their own.
Gulf Coast trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half before rallying back to take a 37-33 halftime lead, and went in front by as much as nine in the second half before having to hold on a late Florida Coastal Prep rally.
"It looked like our first game," Commodores coach Phil Gaffney said. "Obviously we were really out of sync. We just did not do a good job defensively, it was just awful. That's the No. 1 thing that has to improve. Offensively we forced everything. You can't force it, you've got to let the game come to you. Today we should've had over 100 (points) if we played smart offense and defensively we were just terrible.
"But it can only get better as long as we have positive attitudes. I think just getting this game out of the way was good because we were so nervous. It was just awful."
Gulf Coast struggled to find much of a rhythm offensively, especially in the first half when it shot just 37.5 percent from the field and made 3-of-12 from three. The Commodores were a much more efficient 17-of-33 from the field in the second half, but the defense was a problem all night, with Florida Coastal Prep shooting 52.9 percent from the field and making 10-of-26 from deep.
"It wasn't effort, it was not knowing where to go," Gaffney said of his team's defensive woes. "We literally would call a defense and they would have no idea where they were going, which was bizarre because we've played in scrimmages and we know where to go, we're good at switching defenses. It was just a total breakdown, but it was mostly mental mistakes. We'll clean that up. It's my fault that we make mental mistakes and we'll do better."
The Commodores didn't trail after a inside bucket by Tay Hall and a driving layup by Tauris Watson put them up 35-33 late in the first half, but they struggled to put Florida Coastal Prep away.
It appeared Gulf Coast was on its way to doing just that when a pull-up jumper by Chase Forte was followed by a pair of Pierre-Louis threes to make it 73-64 with 7:01 remaining, but Florida Coastal Prep fought back to cut the deficit to three on a corner three from Kylin Green and a reverse layup by Naday Naim made it 81-78 with 1:58 to play.
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Florida Coastal Prep had three opportunities on its ensuing possession to either tie or cut it to one but failed to convert each time, with three Kyle Murphy free throws in the waning seconds finally putting the game to bed for Gulf Coast.
Forte finished with 18 points, six rebounds, and six assists, while Watson had 18 points. Green led Florida Coastal Prep with 16 points.
Commodores will next play a pair of games this weekend at the Northwest Florida State tournament, taking on USC-Salkehatchie on Friday and Coastal Alabama North on Saturday.
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Gulf Coast men start slow, hold on late for 84-78 season-opening win
