CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College men's basketball team erased a late 11-point deficit but could not complete the comeback in an 85-83 loss to Auburn Montgomery on Thursday night in A.E. Wood Coliseum.

The Choctaws fell to 9-10 on the season with a 6-8 mark the in the Gulf South Conference, while the Warhawks improved to 9-13 and 5-9 in the league.
 

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TURNING POINT
- After the Choctaws trailed 80-69 with 4:48 remaining, they would go on a 12-0 run, capped by a pair of free throws from junior Xavion Dillon to make the score 81-80 with 1:18 to go. AUM answered by knocking down four straight free throws, and the Choctaws could not respond as they dropped their second straight home contest.
 

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HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Warhawks jumped out quickly with the game's first 12 points, capped by a three-pointer from Kenneth Keith with 17:09 to go in the first half.
- The Choctaws would slowly chip away and after a steal and dunk by junior Donovan Ham, the game was tied at 18-18 with 11:50 to go.
- MC would grab their first lead with 11:07 to go on a layup by freshman Dyllan Taylor and would push the advantage out to as many as nine at 37-28 with 4:29 to go on a three-pointer from senior Otis Harvey.
- The Warhawks scored the final four points of the half, but the Choctaws would take a 41-36 lead into the break.
- AUM used pressure defense to open the second half and would tie the score at 49-49 with 17:06 remaining on a dunk from Lafayette James-Core.
- They would eventually grab the lead and used a 14-5 run late in the game to grab their largest lead of the second half at 80-69 with 4:48 remaining.
- The Choctaws responded with 12 straight points on a three-pointer from Harvey and a three-point play from Ham.
- Sophomore Brandon Boston cut the score to 84-83 with :12 seconds remaining, but a three-point attempt by senior Antonio Johnson at the buzzer came up short as the Choctaws fell, 85-83.
 

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KEY STATS
- The Choctaws shot 50% (31-of-62) from the field, including 58% (15-of-26) in the second half, but 20 turnovers turned into 15 points for AUM.
- The Warhawks shot 43% (31-of-72) from the floor and went 15-of-18 from the free throw line, including 9-of-10 in the second half.
- Boston led the Choctaws with 20 points and nine rebounds, going 8-of-14 from the field.
- Ham had 19 points, while Dillon came off the bench to score 15.
- Taylor led the team with a season-high six assists, while Johnson added five helpers.
- Desmond Deramus led all scorers with 22 points for AUM, including scoring his 1,000th career point early in the first half.
- Keith (16), Reagan Eubanks (15) and Jarrett Croff (12) all scored in double-figures.
- Croff pulled down 23 rebounds in the contest, which is a new season-best in the GSC and is just two behind the best mark in Division II this year.
 

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NEXT UP
- The Choctaws will welcome West Georgia to Clinton on Saturday at 4:00 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.