CLINTON, Miss. - The Mississippi College men's basketball team opens the 2015-16 regular season on Friday night as cross-town rival Belhaven comes to A.E. Wood Coliseum. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.

Since the 1948-49 season, MC is 43-19 all-time in season openers, including winning 26 out of 30 games since the 1985-86 season. Last year. the Choctaws opened the year with a 77-57 win over Spring Hill College in Clinton.

This will be the 85th all-time meeting between MC and Belhaven, dating back to the 1959-60 season. The Choctaws hold a 55-29 edge in the series, including winning 20 of the last 21 and 35 of the last 39. Last season, MC went to Jackson and picked up an 83-75 win over the Blazers. Tory Rice led MC with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

The Choctaws are coming off their first season back in Division II and the Gulf South Conference, finishing 2014-15 with an 11-13 mark and a 9-13 record in league play.

MC returns four of their top five scorers from last season, led by Rice (Starkville, Miss.), who averaged 16.5 points and 9.6 rebounds, setting an MC single-season record with 13 double-doubles in the 2014-15 season.

Senior Tristan Moore (Senatobia, Miss.) also comes back after averaging 12.8 points and a team-high 4.3 assists per game. The Northwest MS CC transfer scored 20 or more points in five of the last six games of the 2014-15 season.

The Choctaws are led by head coach Don Lofton, who comes into his 12th season with his 200th career victory in sight. Lofton, who has been a part of the program for more than 30 years, has won 189 games as the head man.

Last season, the Choctaw defense was the key to their success, as they went 11-2 in games when they held opponents below 50% shooting from the floor. They were 0-11 when teams shot better than 50%. They also finishe 6-0 when they held opponents to fewer than 70 points.

The Choctaws were also good at closing out games last season, going 7-0 when holding a halftime lead. They finished 7-2 in games they had a lead with 10 minutes remaining and 8-2 when they held a lead with five minutes left.

MC had a streaky 2014-15 season, going on two four-game winning streaks and three four-game losing streaks. The CHoctaws swept GSC opponents North Alabama, Valdosta State and West Florida last season.

The 2015-16 season will be the final one for MC in transition from Division III to Division II. The Choctaw athletic programs are on pace to be full members of the GSC in the 2016-17 academic year. They are coming from the American Southwest Conference in Division III, where they men's basketball team won five conference tournament championships.

The Blazers, who are in their first year in the ASC, are led by second-year head coach Jonathan Vines. Belhaven went 12-20 in their final season in the NAIA and were 6-11 in the Southern States Athletic Conference.

Belhaven returns their second-leading scorer and leading rebounder from last season in De'la Mayers. The senior from Oak Grove, La. averaged 12.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Mayers also led the team with 36 blocks last season. They also return Josh Gaskin, who scored 8.6 points per game and averaged 1.2 assists per contest.