ROME, Ga. --- The Mississippi College men's basketball team will look to stop a two-game losing skid when they head to face Shorter University at 3:00 pm (Central) on Saturday at the Winthrop-King Centre.

This will be just the 2nd all-time meeting between the Choctaws and the Hawks with Shorter taking the first meeting back on January 10th, 90-85. MC trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half but had the lead down to just three in the final seconds. The Choctaws had a chance to tie, but a turnover led the a last-second layup by the Hawks for the 5-point win. Four Choctaws scored in double-figures, led by Emmanuel Ezejiofo with a season-high 18 points, while Tory Rice had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Rayner Fredrick tallied 16 points and nine rebounds for MC. Jordan Jacks led the Hawks with 25 points and 10 rebounds.

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 110-34 (.764) record at home, including a perfect mark in the 2005-06 season.

The Choctaws trailed by as many as 11 points in the second half to Lee University on Thursday night, but tied the game with just under 10 minutes to play. The Flames would pull away late for a 92-85 victory over MC in Cleveland, Tenn. Tory Rice led MC with 23 points, going 8-of-9 from the field. Freshman Stacey Mack had 12 points and 10 rebounds to tally his fifth double-double of the season. The Flames went 11-of-21 from the three-point line and Stedmon Ford led all scorers with 29 points for Lee.

Rice is the team's leading scorer (16.8 ppg) and rebounder (9.7 rpg) on the season, racking up 13 double-doubles, a new Mississippi College all-time record. The Starkville native is shooting 58% from the floor and has scored in double-figures in all but one game this season. Junior Tristan Moore (11.8 ppg) is also averaging in double-figures and leads the team with 98 assists. With two more helpers, he would become the first Choctaw with triple-digit assists in a season since Jonathan Collins had 113 in 2005-06.

Mack has stepped up over the last six games, earning starts due to an injury to senior Rayner Fredrick. The McComb native has started all six games and is averaging 14.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per game in that span. He has scored double-figures in six of the last seven games and is averaging 15.3 ppg over the last four contests.

The Hawks, led by 8th-year head coach Chad Warner, have already locked up a spot in the Gulf South Conference Tournament but still have an opporunity to finish in the top four, which would earn them a home game to open the postseason. They are currently tied with Union for that fourth spot and wrap up the season against MC and at Lee, while Union plays at Alabama Huntsville and Christian Brothers.

Dedric Ware (18.5 ppg) is the team's leading scorer and assist man with 167 helpers on the season. He is shooting 83% (82-of-99) from the free throw line. Jordan Jacks is averaging 16.5 points and a team-high 9.1 rebounds per game.