CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College men's basketball team will put their Gulf South Conference tournament hopes on the line with a pair of league contests this week.
The Choctaws (9-13, 6-11 GSC) will host West Florida (22-3, 14-3 GSC) on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. in the team's final home game. At halftime of the women's game, four seniors will be recognized as they participate in their final home contest. MC will then travel to face UAH (14-11, 7-10 GSC) on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.
THE SERIES
This will be the 12th all-time meeting between MC and West Florida with the Argos holding a 7-4 edge in the series. Overall, UWF has won four straight, including an 82-70 victory in Pensacola on January 7th. Junior
Donovan Ham led MC with 19 points, while senior
Otis Harvey scored a season-high 17.
This will be the 13th all-time meeting between the Choctaws and UAH with MC holding a 7-5 edge in the series. MC snapped a five-game skid to the Chargers with a 105-93 victory on January 4th. Five Choctaws scored in double-figures, led by 25 from Ham, who also had a team-high eight rebounds.
MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE (9-13, 6-11 GSC)
ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
The Choctaws, led by 14th-year head coach
Don Lofton, will celebrate "Senior Night" at halftime of the women's game. They will honor five seniors participating in their final home contests for MC.
Ricky Breakfield,
Xavion Dillon,
Otis Harvey,
Antonio Johnson and
Stacey Mack will all be recognized for their outstanding contributions to Mississippi College.
The Choctaws are still in the hunt for the Gulf South Conference postseason tournament, sitting just two games out of the final spot with three contests to go. They will look to snap a five-game losing streak when they host the Argos, who are looking to lock up one of the top two seeds in the league. In MC's last outing, they fell to West Alabama, 87-64.
Junior
Donovan Ham (15.0 ppg) leads the team in scoring and steals (25), while also sitting second in rebounds (6.0) and assists (2.8) per game. Sophomore
Brandon Boston (14.6 ppg) had a streak of 10 straight double-figure scoring games snapped against UWA. Prior to that, he was averaging over 20 points per game in his last six contests.
Johnson (10.8 ppg) leads the team with 93 assists and ranks 8th in school history with 228 helpers. The McComb native also is 2nd in school history in three-pointers made (147) and attempted (373) for a career. Dillon (12.5 ppg) led MC with 18 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's loss to UWA.
WEST FLORIDA (22-3, 14-3 GSC)
ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
The Argos, led by 3rd-year head coach Jeff Burkhamer, have lost just three games by a total of five points this season. They have a pair of one-point losses (at Lee, at UAH) and a three-point defeat (AUM). They have currently won four straight and sit two games behind Valdosta State for the top spot in the league.
UWF is led by senior Darryl Tucker (16.5 ppg, 9.8 rpg) in scoring and rebounding, despite not having started a single game all season. He is shooting 66% from the floor and leads the squad with 37 blocked shots. Moter Deng (13.2 ppg), Marvin Jones (12.9 ppg) and DJ Thorpe (12.0 ppg) are also scoring in double-figures. Rashaan Benson (9.8 ppg) leads the team with 134 assists.
UAH (14-11, 7-10 GSC)
ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
The Chargers are led by head coach Lennie Acuff, who led UAH to the 2016-17 Gulf South Conference championship and won his 400th career game earlier this season. They currently sit in 9th in the GSC standings with three games to go and have lost three straight coming into Saturday's contest.
Justin Ward (18.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg) is the team's leading scorer and rebounder, shooting 45% from the floor and 39% from the three-point line. Kip Owens (12.3 ppg) leads the team with 100 assists and is second on the team with 5.1 boards per game. Chayse Elliott (15.1 ppg) is also scoring in double-figures and is shooting 45% from the three-point line.
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.
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