PERKINSTON, Ms. – LSU Eunice Men's Basketball secured the season sweep of Mississippi Gulf Coast as the Bengals took a 71-67 victory over the Bulldogs on Thursday at Wentzell Arena.  LSUE (9-2) virtually went wire-to-wire in the final regular season game of the 2022 calendar year.
 
The Bengals would use three-point shooting and a full court press to open up a double-digit point advantage midway through the first half.  Christian Landry (Lafayette, LA, St. Thomas More HS) and Corey Pope (Miami, FL, Norcross HS (GA)) connected on back-to-back trifectas to help LSUE push its lead to 25-12 with 10:35 before intermission.
 
The Bengals force 17 turnovers on the night, turning them into 17 points.
 
After taking a 40-33 halftime lead, LSUE would keep Mississippi Gulf Coast at arm's length for most of the game.  The Bengals would use a Nasir DeGruy (New Orleans, LA, St. Augustine HS) three-pointer with five minutes left to build their largest lead of the game, 16 points, 65-49.
 
The Bulldogs would not go down easily, trimming their deficit to two points with a minute left in regulation.  Leland Smith (New Orleans, LA, Edna Karr HS) would sink a pair of free throws to help push LSUE ahead by two possessions with 5.5 seconds remaining.
 
Smith was joined by a solid effort off the bench as the LSUE reserves outscored the MGCCC bench 27-10. 
 
Bryce Roberts (Bossier City, LA, Parkway HS) would fill the stat sheet with a team-high 12 points, five steals, four assists and a pair of rebounds.  Kaden Pierre (Ama, LA, Hahnville HS) also added a dozen points to go with six rebounds.
 
Seviuhn Turner (Baton Rouge, LA, Madison Prep Academy) was the other Bengal to score double digit points, going for 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
 
MGCCC's Donovan Sanders led all scorers with 20 points on the night.
 
LSU Eunice returns to the court on January 4 with a home date against McLennan Community College.