CLINTON, Miss. --- In a game that saw 23 lead changes and six ties, the Mississippi College men's basketball team came away with a 72-66 victory over Valdosta State Univiersity on Saturday afternoon at A.E. Wood Coliseum.

The Choctaws (4-4, 2-4 GSC) won their second straight conference game by shooting 50% (28-of-56) from the field and holding the Blazers (7-5, 2-4 GSC) to a 44% clip, their best in a Gulf South Conference game this season. MC dominated the post with 48 points in the paint to just 24 for VSU.

The first half saw both teams clinging to small leads, and VSU took a 31-30 adavntage with 1:47 remaining on a tip-in bucket by Jeremiah Hill. The Choctaws went on a 6-0 run to close the half and took a 36-30 lead going into the break.

MC would push the second half lead out to 40-33 on a layup by senior Emmanuel Ezejiofo, but the Blazers went on a 9-2 run to tie the game with 16:02 to go. After MC had taken a 53-48 lead, VSU scored eight straight points, highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers from Jay Watkins.

The game would stay close in the final minutes as a Colin Cook layup tied the game at 66-66 with 1:22 remaining. Fredrick converted a putback and two free throws, while Ezejiofo also had two free throws to clinch the win. MC went on 6-0 runs to close out both halves.

Junior Tory Rice led MC with 18 points, going 7-of-8 from the field with a team-high eight rebounds. Ezejiofo had 17 points and seven boards, while junior Tristan Moore tallied 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Fredrick finished the game with six points, five assists and two steals.

Blake Justice led the Blazers with 15 points, going 5-of-11 from the three-point line. As a team, VSU was 11-of-30 (37%) from behind the arc, including making nine in the second half. James Spencer had 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds for VSU.

The Choctaws will be back in action in 2015 when they travel to face Alabama Huntsville at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 3rd.