Hinds Community College continued its streak of sluggish first halves Thursday night.

This time, it was costly.

Mississippi Gulf Coast raced to a 34-point lead at halftime, then held off Hinds’ comeback attempt in the second half to win 41-28 in the showdown of nationally ranked teams in Perkinston.

Quarterback Clint Hatten was 9-of-12 passing for 222 yards and three touchdowns for Gulf Coast (3-0, 1-0 MACJC South), which is ranked fourth in this week’s NJCAA poll and has beaten No. 6 Hinds eight straight times since 2005. Dhaquille Williams caught five passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns. The last Williams-to-Hatten TD pass came on the last play of the first half and gave Gulf Coast a 34-0 lead.

Hinds (2-1, 0-1), which has scored just 25 points in the first half this season, was held to 99 yards of offense in the first two quarters Thursday. The Eagles, though, rallied in the second half to make a game of it.

Jabari Baker scored on a 1-yard run to get Hinds on the board with 5:54 left in the third quarter. Quarterback Christopher Nelson then scored on a 47-yard run, and threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Quantavius Leslie — all sandwiched around another Gulf Coast touchdown — to cut it to 41-21 with 10:45 left in the game.

Baker cut the deficit to two touchdowns with a 32-yard scoring run with 4:25 left, but the Eagles couldn’t get any closer. Nelson threw an interception in the end zone on their next possession, and Gulf Coast was able to run out the clock.

Baker finished with 108 rushing yards and two touchdowns for Hinds, which racked up 323 total yards in the second half.

Anton Thornton rushed 13 times for 100 yards and a touchdown for Gulf Coast, and Byron Nettles carried the ball 23 times for 153 yards and two TDs.

Hinds will return home to Raymond next Thursday for a South Division game against Co-Lin at 6:30 p.m.