CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College men's basketball team will play their first home game in 17 days when they host West Georgia on Thursday night in A.E. Wood Coliseum. Tip-off for the Gulf South Conference contest is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

This will be the 23rd all-time meeting between the schools with MC holding a 15-7 edge in the series. The Choctaws are 8-2 all-time against the Wolves in Clinton, but have not won a game in the series since Feb. 15, 1993 (120-83).

The Choctaws traveled to Carrollton back on December 6th, falling to the Wolves, 95-92. MC trailed 90-81 with 1:37 remaining, but cut the lead to just one in the final seconds. A three-pointer at the buzzer missed that would have sent the game into overtime.

Tristan Moore scored a team-high 22 points, tallying a double-double with 10 assists. Five players scored in double-figures for MC, including Otis Harvey with 20 points, going 6-of-7 from the three-point line. Shannon Fowler led the Wolves with 23 points.

The Choctaws are coming off a tough loss to nationally-ranked Delta State on Saturday, 80-53. MC shot just 30% against the rival Statesmen, including going just 6-of-22 from the three-point line. Stacey Mack led MC with a season-high 19 points, while Tory Rice pulled down 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 struggled in the "Golden Dome" this season, going just 1-4 in the friendly confines, including an 0-4 GSC record. MC is scoring just 62.0 points per game and shooting 37% from the floor at home.

Moore (13.6 ppg / 4.1 apg) is MC's leading scorer on the season, also pacing the team with 53 assists. The Senatobia native was just 1-of-11 from the field against Delta State on Saturday, giving him just the third single-season scoring game of the season (6 pts.). In three games against UWG, Moore has tallied 32 total assists, including a career-high 14 in Carrollton last season.

Rice (13.4 ppg / 11.9 rpg) is MC's all-time leading offensive rebounder, pulling down 167 boards on the offensive end in two seasons. He had nine offensive rebounds against Delta State on Saturday and has 16 boards in each of the last two games. The Starkville native is 7th in school history with 10.4 rebounds per game.

Mack (6.3 ppg / 4.6 rpg) had his best game of the season against DSU, going 8-of-13 from the field for a season-high 19 points. He also made a career-high three three-pointers in the loss. The McComb native has scored in double-figures in the last two games and is shooting 57% from the floor in that stretch.

The Wolves are led by 9th-year head coach Michael Cooney, who has the team tied with DSU and Alabama Hunstville at the top of the GSC standings. They lead the league in scoring (90.1 ppg) and steals per game (11.4) but are 9th in scoring defense (82.9 ppg) on the season.

UWG has been great at home this season, going 10-0 at The Coliseum in Carrollton. They are just 1-5 on the road, with the only win coming by two points at West Florda (Jan. 11). The Wolves are coming off a 68-63 win over West Alabama on Saturday.

Steph Branch (15.8 ppg / 6.9 rpg) is the only player to start all 16 games for the Wolves this season. He leads the team in scoring a rebounding and scored 17 points with eight rebounds and four steals against MC in the previous meeting.