VALDOSTA, Ga. --- The Mississippi College men's basketball team fell to GSC-leading Valdosta State, 101-78, on Tuesday night in The Complex.

The Choctaws dropped to 7-7 with a 4-5 mark in the Gulf South Conference, while the Blazers improved to 13-2 and 6-1 in league play.
 

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TURNING POINT
- The Choctaw hung with the Blazers over the first 16 minutes, trailing 39-29 with just over four minutes remaining. VSU would close the half on an 18-6 run and take a 57-35 lead at the break, going on to pick up their sixth consecutive victory.
 

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HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Choctaws would jump out to a 6-5 lead two minutes into the game as junior Donovan Ham took an assist from senior Antonio Johnson and threw it down.
- The Blazers would score the next six points to take an 11-6 lead and would not trail the rest of the night.
- MC would cut the advantage down to as few as three on a couple of occasions in the first half, but VSU used the big run over the final four minutes to take the 22-point lead at the break.
- In the second half, the Blazers would push the lead out to as many as 28, but the Choctaws used a 15-4 run with four minutes remaining to cut the score to 89-74.
- The Blazers would pull away for their sixth consecutive win.
 

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KEY STATS
- The Choctaws shot 46% (31-of-67) from the field, while the Blazers shot 47% (35-of-75).
- VSU hit 15-of-37 three-pointers, including knocking down 12 in the first half. MC went 7-of-19 from long range.
- Junior Donovan Ham tied a season-high with 25 points, going 10-of-19 from the field and 4-of-8 from the three-point line.
- Sophomore Brandon Boston scored a career-high 22 and tallied his first double-double of the season with 10 rebounds.
- Senior Antonio Johnson scored 17 points with six rebounds and three assists.
- The Blazers were led by Winston Morgan, who went 9-of-13 from the three-point line to score 27 points.
- Justin McBride scored 20 points with nine rebounds, while KJ James had a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards.

NEXT UP
- The Choctaws will have nearly a week off before hosting GSC-newcomer Montevallo on Monday (Jan. 15) at 7:30 p.m. in A.E. Wood Coliseum.
 

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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.