CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College men's basketball team will close out their longest road swing of the season when they head Walter Sillers Coliseum to face rival Delta State on Saturday. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.

This will be the 90th all-time meeting between the schools, the most-played rivalry for MC. The Statesmen hold a 52-36-1 edge in the series, including a 35-11-1 mark in Cleveland.

The two teams renewed their rivalry last season after a 19-year absence, and DSU picked up two wins, including a 71-70 victory in Cleveland. The Choctaws took a 70-64 lead with 2:48 remaining, but the Statesmen closed the game on a 7-0 run to get the victory. Tristan Moore led the Choctaws with 24 points, while Devin Schmidt led Delta State with 27 points and seven assists.

The Choctaws are coming off a 65-57 victory at Lee University on Monday night, putting up their best defensive effort of the season. MC scored 27 points off of 17 Flames' turnovers and allowed their fewest points of the year. Tristan Moore led MC with 19 points, while Tory Rice had 11 points and a career-high 16 rebounds.

MC head coach Don Lofton 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 194 games as the head man and coached his 300th career game against UWF.

The Choctaws have been road warriors this season, posting a 4-3 mark away from the "Golden Dome". MC is scoring 77.3 points per game and shooting 49% from the field in road games while scoring 62.0 points per game and shooting 37% from the floor in home games.

Senior Tristan Moore (14.3 ppg / 4.3 apg) leads the Choctaws in scoring, assists and steals (1.6) per game this season. The Senatobia native went 9-of-12 from the free throw line on his way to 19 points in the victory over Lee on Monday. Moore has scored in double-figures in all but two games this season and had a season-high 10 assists against West Georgia.

Senior Tory Rice (14.1 ppg / 11.6 rpg) leads the team in rebounding and is on pace to become just the 8th player in school history to average a double-double over his career (15.7 ppg / 10.3 rpg). The Starkville native has pulled down 60 offensive rebounds this season, including at least two in every game.

Seniors Johnny Rucker (12.6 ppg) and Jonathan McGee (11.8 ppg) are also averaging in double-figure scoring this season. Rucker scored nine points, including knocking down two game-clinching free throws against Lee. McGee tied a school record with eight made three-pointers on Saturday at Shorter.

The Statesmen are led by 4th-year head coach Jim Boone, who is creeping up on 500 career coaching victories in 31 years on the bench. DSU is currently tied with West Georgia for 2nd-place in the Gulf South Conference, sitting one game behind UAH.

Defense has been the key to DSU's success this season as they are tied with Christian Brothers at the top of the league in scoring defense (69.3 ppg). They have only given up more than 70 points in 7-of-16 games this season with West Georgia putting up a season-high 85 points on December 3rd.

The Statesmen are coming off an 83-80 loss at Shorter on Monday that saw them shoot go just 8-of-26 from the three-point line.

All-American Devin Schmidt (25.1 ppg) leads the conference in scoring, shooting 40% from the three-point line with a team-high 61 assists and 28 steals. He has scored in double-figures in every game this season and has scored 30+ points in three of the last four contests.

PJ Davis (11.8 ppg) and Jack Madgen (10.3 ppg) are also scoring in double-figures, while James Kilpatrick (6.3 rpg) leads the team in rebounding.