CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College men's basketball team will welcome rival Delta State to A.E. Wood Coliseum for the first time since the 1995-96 season on Saturday for a 4:00 p.m. tip-off time.

This will be the 75th meeting between the schools, dating back to the 1953-54 season, a 65-65 tie. While the Statesmen took a large lead in the series in the early years, the Choctaws won 14 of the last 21 contests before MC dropped to Division III and the American Southwest Conference. The two teams last played in 1995-96 when MC picked up a 50-49 win in front of 3,000 fans.

Head coach Don Lofton is in his 11th season at the helm, winning his first two games of the season for his 180th career victory. Lofton has compiled a 108-31 (.777) record at home, including a perfect mark in the 2005-06 season.

Tristan Moore's driving layup with :04.5 seconds remaining gave the Choctaws a 73-72 win over Lee University on Monday night in A.E. Wood Coliseum. MC picked up their fifth win in the last six games when the Flames' game-winning attempt came just after the buzzer. Five Choctaws scored in double-figures, led by Moore's 13 points, going 3-of-4 from the three-point line.

The Choctaw defense has been the key to their success this season as they are 7-0 when their opponents shoot less than 50% from the field, while they are 0-5 when opponents go over the 50% mark. The bench has also been vital this season with MC going 5-1 when the reserves outscore the opponents.

Tory Rice, who leads MC with 15.8 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, tallied his seventh double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Moore (10.2 ppg) also leads the team wtih 55 assists and ranks second on the squad with 19 steals. Johnny Rucker is averaging 12.3 points per game and tied a season-high with four assists to go along with 12 points against Lee.

Freshman Stacey Mack earned his first career start on Monday night, putting up 12 first-half points and going 4-of-7 from the field and 3-of-3 from the free throw line. Mack started in place of senior Rayner Fredrick (7.5 ppg), who leads the team with 28 steals. Fredrick plans to be back in the lineup for Saturday's game with DSU.

The Statesmen are led by head coach Jim Boone, who led the team to the GSC regular season championship and a "Sweet 16" appearance just last season. Since opening the season at 3-5, DSU has been rolling as of late, winning three straight and 7-of-9.

Sophomore Devin Schmidt, who was the GSC Freshman of the Year last season, leads the team with 17.7 points per game, including 27 points on Monday in the win over Shorter. Former Choctaw Laquavius Cotton is averaging 9.7 points per game and is shooting 47% from the three-point line. He has scored in double-figures in three straight games, including a season 19 against Shorter.