CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College men's basketball team will play their first Gulf South Conference road game of the season when they travel to Carrollton to face West Georgia on Saturday. Tip-off in The Coliseum is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. (CT). MC will then travel to Montgomery, Ala. to face Auburn Montgomery on Monday night with the tip-off at 7:30 p.m.

The Choctaws (3-4, 1-2 GSC) and the Wolves (3-4, 0-2 GSC) have met 25 previous times with the Choctaws holding a 17-8 edge in the series. MC swept the season series last season, including picking up a 106-101 victory at UWG. Four Choctaws scored in double-figures, led by DeOndre Haynes with 27 points.

MC and AUM (5-4, 1-1 GSC) have met just two previous times, and the Choctaws have won each of the two previous contests with the GSC newcomers. Last season, the season-opener saw the Choctaws erase an 11-point deficit to take down the Warhawks, 73-71. Stacey Mack led the Choctaws with 15 points and 16 rebounds in the victory.

Head coach Don Lofton leads the Choctaws, and the 14th-year leader coached his 350th game in the last contest against West Alabama. The Wolves are led by 10th-year head coach Michael Cooney, who steered UWG to a 2015-16 GSC championship. The Warhawks are led by 4th-year head coach Michael Cheaney, who is just the third men's basketball coach in school history and has posted a 44-50 record.
 

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MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE (3-4, 1-2 GSC)
The Choctaws are coming off a tough 86-60 loss last Saturday as senior Antonio Johnson was playing on the same day that he and his family buried his mother after she passed away last Wednesday. MC trailed by just four with 10 minutes remaining, but the Tigers pulled away for the big win.

At 78.4 points per game, the Choctaws are the 6th-best scoring offense in the league, but they rank 14th in scoring defense (81.7 ppg). MC ranks 2nd in the conference in free throw percentage (.756) and are 4th in assists (16.0) and blocked shots (4.0) per game.

Mack (16.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg) is the team's leading scorer and rebounder and has put up double-figure points in all but the first game of this season. Johnson (12.0 ppg) is shooting 46% from the three-point line, while junior Donovan Ham (12.6 ppg) leads the squad with 4.3 assists per contest.
 

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WEST GEORGIA (3-4, 0-2 GSC)
ROSTER  |  SCHEDULE  |  STATISTICS

The Wolves are playing their first game in two weeks after a 70-52 loss at Lee University on December 2nd. Marquill Smith posted a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds in the defeat. This will be just the second home game of the year for UWG after a 92-89 win over Augusta. 

They rank 3rd in the GSC in steals per game (7.6) and lead the conference in average attendance (1,863). UWG is 14th in the conference in assist/turnover ratio (0.8) and 13th in field goal percentage defense (.466).

Smith (20.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg) is the team's leading scorer and rebounder, shooting 51% from the floor and 82% from the free throw line. William Sides (17.0 ppg) is the only other UWG player to average in double-figure scoring.
 

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AUBURN MONTGOMERY (5-4, 1-1 GSC)
ROSTER  |  SCHEDULE  |  STATISTICS

The Warhawks have won two straight tight games, including their last contest, an 84-77 win at Spring Hill on Wednesday night. Kenneth Keith came off the bench to score a team-high 19 points, while Darrion Taylor scored 18 points with seven rebounds and six assists.

AUM would rank 12th in the GSC in scoring offense (74.8 ppg) and scoring defense (79.8 ppg). They would lead the league in free throw percentage (.786), but they are shooting just 44% from the floor, which ranks 11th in the GSC.

Desmond DeRamus is the team's leading scorer (16.9 ppg) and rebounder (4.5 rpg), despite not playing in the last game against Spring Hill. Taylor (11.6 ppg) and Lafayette James-Core (10.5 ppg) are the only other two players to average in double-figures.
 

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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.