CARROLLTON, Ga. --- The Mississippi College men's basketball team had their highest scoring output in three years in a 106-101 victory over West Georgia on Thursday night in The Coliseum.
 

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TURNING POINT

• With the game tied 30-30 with 6:25 remaining in the first half, the Choctaws (6-19, 3-18 GSC) used a 25-11 run, including scoring seven straight to end the first 20 minutes and take a 55-41 lead into the break.

 

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HOW IT HAPPENED

• After the Wolves scored the first two points of the game, the Choctaws went on a 7-0 run, capped by a three-point play from senior DeOndre Haynes just over a minute into the contest.
• With 6:25 remaining in the first 20 minutes, Steph Branch converted a layup for UWG that tied the game at 30-30.
• MC would close the half on a 25-11 run, including a 7-0 run in the final minute, that led them to their highest-scoring half of the season and gave them a 55-41 lead at the break.
• The Choctaws took their largest lead of the night with 10:50 remaining when sophomore Xavion Dillon scored two of his career-high 26 points on a layup.
• The Wolves would continue to battle, however, using a late 10-0 run to cut the score to 97-93 with 2:04 to go in the game.
• The Choctaws would hold off the late rally by going 9-of-11 from the free throw line in the final two minutes.

 

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KEY STATS

• The Choctaws had four players score 20 or more points, led by senior DeOndre Haynes with 27.
• The Calera, Ala. native has now scored 20 or more in four of the last five games, including averaging 29.0 over the last two.
• Dillon came off the bench to score a career-high 26 and pull down a team-high nine rebounds. The Tylertown, Miss. native went 10-of-14 from the foul line and 8-of-11 from the field.
• Junior Stacey Mack tied a career-high with 23 points, while fellow McComb junior Antonio Johnson scored 22 and went 6-of-9 from the three point line.
• The Choctaw shot 56% (38-of-68) from the field and went 23-of-28 (82%) from the free throw line.
• MC had 21 assists on the night, led by Haynes (6) and junior Otis Harvey (5). The Choctaws also only had 10 turnovers on the night.
• Steph Branch led all scorers with 37 for West Georgia, going 14-of-17 from the field and 5-of-7 from the three-point line.
• The Wolves shot 50% (35-of-70) from the field, but only went 16-of-25 (64%) from the free throw line.

 

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NEXT UP

• The Choctaws will close out the 2016-17 season on Saturday when they travel to Livingston to face rival West Alabama at 4:00 p.m. in Pruitt Hall. It will be the final game in the careers of Jared Case, DeOndre Haynes and Byron McCall.

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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.