CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College men's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker on Saturday afternoon as North Alabama hit a three-pointer in the final seconds to grab a 60-57 win in A.E. Wood Coliseum.

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Lions (8-7, 3-6 GSC) scored the game's first six points, capped by a jumper from Johnell Ginnie just two minutes into the contest.
- After UNA pushed the lead out to 15-7, the Choctaws (4-9, 1-8 GSC) answered with eight straight points, finished off by a pair of free throws from junior Stacey Mack.
- The Lions would re-gain the lead and take a 29-26 lead into the intermission.
- UNA opened the second half on a 9-2 run to grasp their largest lead of the night, 38-28, with 16:51 remaining.
- The Choctaws would chip away at the lead over the second 20 minutes, and when freshman Tristan Hunter knocked down two free throws, the game was tie 53-53 with 4:34 remaining.
- The game went back and forth until Hunter gave MC a 57-55 lead with 1:29 remaining as he slashed to the basket and converted the layup.
- The Lions answered with a layup from Ginnie, setting up the game-winning three-pointer from Dimario Jackson with just 0:01.1 remaining on the clock.

KEY STATS
- Both teams shot under 40% on the night with the Choctaws going 21-of-56 (38%) and the Lions going 24-of-65 (37%).
- Both teams were also under 25% from the three-point line as UNA was 5-of-23 (22%) and MC was 2-of-10 (20%).
- The Choctaws outrebounded the Lions 49-36, including 33 defensive rebounds.
- UNA only turned the ball over seven times, while the Choctaws had 14 assists on 21 made field goals.
- MC's bench outscored UNA, 23-11.
- Mack led the Choctaws with a double-double on the night, scoring 17 points with 13 rebounds.
- Sophomore Xavion Dillon was also in double-figures with 10 points, while senior Byron McCall pulled down 10 rebounds.
- Ginnie and Jackson each had 20 points for the Lions, while Ginnie and Austin Timms had a team-high seven rebounds.
- The Choctaws led for only 51 seconds in the game.

GAME NOTES
- Sophomore Davy Fisher knocked down a three-pointer with 4:41 remaining in the first half, giving the Choctaws 495 straight contests with a long ball, dating back to March 5, 1998.
- The Lions now lead the all-time series 29-19, including going 13-11 in A.E. Wood Coliseum.
- Coach Lofton is now 3-2 all-time against UNA, winning the first three meetings after re-joining the conference in 2014-15.

NEXT UP
- The Choctaws will hit the road for the rest of January, traveling to West Florida (Jan. 19) and Valdosta State (Jan. 21) next week.
- MC's next home game wil be on February 2nd when VSU comes to Clinton for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.
 

---

Mississippi College is a private Christian university located in Clinton, Mississippi with an enrollment of over 5,000 students. MC is recently finished their transition process back to NCAA Division II and the Gulf South Conference and will be competing for conference and national championships in the 2016-17 academic year.
 
The athletic department sponsors 17 intercollegiate athletic programs: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Football, Golf, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Men's and Women's Tennis, Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field, Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field and Volleyball.
 
For more information on Mississippi College athletics, please contact David Nichols at 601-925-3234 or nichols@mc.edu.