By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director
LAUREL — For the second straight season, the Gulfport boys faced perennial state power Meridian in the Wilson Terrell MLK Day Classic here at Laurel High School.
And, for the second consecutive time, the Admirals escaped with a win over the Wildcats.
Gulfport slipped past Meridian 54-50 in the featured game of the eight game annual affair. The Admirals move to an impressive 19-1 overall with the win, while the Wildcats fall to 10-8.

It took a solid fourth quarter comeback for Gulfport to pull out the win, as the Admirals out-scored Meridian 17-8 down the stretch to overcome a 42-37 deficit after three quarters to seal the win.
Junior stalwart Denzel Jackson stepped up in a major way for Gulfport in that decisive final frame, as he tallied nine points including a key 3-pointer to lead the charge in the come-from-behind decision.
Meridian, led by former Pascagoula head coach Ron Norman, led by as much as eight points in the third quarter, but the Admirals stayed within striking distance thanks in large part to the play of senior standout Morris Robertson, Jr., who drained four treys on the afternoon and finished with a team-high 22 points.
In addition to Robertson’s 22 points, Jackson added 13 points to the winning effort and Travor Frost chipped in 10 points for GHS.

Robertson was named the Most Valuable Player in the game.
The loss overshadowed a sparkling performance by Meridian’s Derrick Watts, who poured in a game-high 26 points for the Wildcats.
The meeting was the third between the two teams on the hardwood in the past year. After Gulfport earned the win in his event last year, Meridian came to Bert Jenkins Gym in the opening round of the Class 7A South State playoffs last season and pulled off the upset to end the campaign for the Admirals.