By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director
HATTIESBURG — Gulfport traveled to this Hub City for the second straight day Saturday afternoon.
And for the second consecutive outing, the Admiral sailed back home with a win in the annual Hattiesburg Coca-Cola Christmas Tournament.
Gulfport got off to a quick start and never looked back as the Admirals thumped Oak Grove 69-17 to claim the tourney title late Saturday afternoon.
“Our guys were excited about playing for some hardware,” second-year GHS head coach Brian Butler said. “They wanted a trophy, and they were determined to prove that they deserved it. I’m very pleased with our effort and intensity throughout this tournament, and we’re looking to use this success to spring board into our own tournament this coming week.”

Gulfport began the game on a 13-2 run and ended the first quarter on a 7-2 run to take a 20-4 lead that was highlighted by a Morris Robertson three-pointer at the buzzer.
In the second quarter the Admirals outscored the Warriors 16-3 to take a commanding 36-7 halftime lead.
Cameron Morris finished with a game-high 20 points to lead Gulfport, while Trevor Frost chipped in 14 points to the winning effort and Robertson added 13 points, as the Admirals moved to 11-1 on the season.
“We look at it anytime we play Class 7A school outside of the coast it could be a potential playoff matchup, so our job is to just handle business and take care of us,” Butler added. “We play the way we want to play and make sure that we are successful and our guys played hard tonight.”

Oak Grove, which upset host Hattiesburg on Friday night to set up the match-up with Gulfport, fell to 7-6 overall.

“We didn’t come out ready to play from the beginning of the game they way we wanted to, and we knew it was going to be a tough matchup for us,” said Oak Grove head coach LaRon Brumfield. “They came out and played really well, getting the ball down low and once they got going we couldn’t bounce back. It is what it is and we will learn from this and keep moving forward and get ready for district.”

Robertson earned the Most Valuable Player Award for his play in the tourney, and he was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Denzell Jackson and Frost.
The Admirals now host the 42nd annual Holiday Classic beginning Monday at home in Bert Jenkins Gymnasium.