CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College men's basketball team will welcome rival Delta State to Clinton on Saturday afternoon for a Gulf South Conference clash. Tip-off in A.E. Wood Coliseum is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
The Choctaws will then welcome Christian Brothers to Clinton for their final game of 2018, facing the Bucs on Monday (Dec. 17) at 7:30 p.m.
GAME INFORMATION
Matchup: Mississippi College Choctaws (4-3, 1-1 GSC) vs. Delta State Statesmen (5-3, 1-1 GSC)
Date: Saturday, December 15th, 2018
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Location: Clinton, Miss. | A.E. Wood Coliseum
Matchup: Mississippi College Choctaws (4-4, 1-2 GSC) vs. Christian Brothers Bucs (6-4, 2-1 GSC)
Date: Monday, December 17th, 2018
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Clinton, Miss. | A.E. Wood Coliseum
SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE
The Choctaws are led by 15th-year head coach
Don Lofton, who has posted a career record of 217-159 (.577). He is joined on the bench by first-year assistant coach
Alex Ainsworth and former Choctaw
Otis Harvey as a graduate assistant. MC fell to Delta State in their last outing, 74-65, only shooting 6-of-19 (32%) from the three-point line.
Junior
Brandon Boston (16.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg) is the team's leading scorer and rebounder but was held to just 5-of-13 shooting in the loss to MC's Magnolia State rivals.
Marcus Lytle (14.3 ppg) hit 9-of-10 free throws on his way to a team-high 15 points.
Dyllan Taylor (10.6 ppg) leads the team with 4.9 assists per contest and is the only Choctaw to start all eight games.
Tre Jenkins (12.6 ppg) leads the team with 28 made three-pointers on the year, followed by
Scot Hundt (5.3 ppg) with 12.
SCOUTING DELTA STATE
The Statesmen are led by 7th-year head coach Jim Boone, who has posted a career record of 452-242 (.651) with a mark of 114-76 (.600) at Delta State.
DSU ranks 2nd in the league in scoring defense (66.3 ppg) and leads the league in field goal percentage (.518) and field goal percentage defense (.384). They also lead the GSC in blocked shots per game (3.6).
Brett Warner (15.1 ppg) leads the team and is 9th in the conference in scoring, while Justin Slocum (11.9 ppg) is 9th in the league in rebounding (7.1). Cedric Harper (10.3 ppg) is the league's leader with 2.1 blocked shots per game.
SCOUTING CHRISTIAN BROTHERS
The Bucs are led by former Choctaw and 20th-year head coach Mike Nienaber, who has posted a record of 338-218 (.608) in his time at CBU. In their last outing, Luke Rudy (11.6 ppg) set a conference record with 14 made three-pointers in a 107-87 victory over Auburn Montgomery. Rudy set a school record with 44 points against the Warhawks.
Joe Laravie (17.2 ppg) leads the squad in scoring, while Adam Dieball (16.8 ppg) leads the team with 7.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game. Nick Deifel (10.8 ppg) is also averaging in double-figures for the Bucs.
GAME NOTES
This will be the 14th all-time meeting between the two schools with CBU holding an 8-5 edge in the series.
The Bucs are the only school in the Gulf South Conference that the Choctaws have yet to defeat since returning to Division II and the league prior to the 2014-15 season.
MC held a 39-31 lead at the break in last year's meeting, but CBU came back to get the 79-76 win.
Mississippi College is a private Christian university located in Clinton, Mississippi with an enrollment of over 5,000 students. MC 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.
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