JACKSON, Tenn. --- The Mississippi College men's basketball team cut an early 16-point deficit down to a 37-32 halftime score, but Union University pulled away in the second half for a 81-62 win on Saturday afternoon in Fred Delay Gymnasium.
 
The Choctaws fell to 4-10 on the season with a 1-8 Gulf South Conference mark, while the Bulldogs improved to 10-8 and 5-5 in league play.
 

---

 
TURNING POINT
 
Freshman Jacob Taylor hit the opening bucket of the second half to cut the lead to just three, and sophomore Dyllan Taylor made a layup with 16:29 remaining to make the score 44-39, but the Bulldogs responded with an 8-0 run and never looked back.
 

---

 
KEY STATS
 
The Choctaws shot 25-of-62 (40%) from the field, while the Bulldogs went 26-of-52 (51%).
 
MC went 6-of-19 (32%) from the three-point line, including just 1-of-10 (10%) in the second half.
 
The Choctaws outscored the Bulldogs in the points, 34-22, but Union outrebounded MC 39-29 and score 25 fast break points to just 13 for MC.
 
Dyllan Taylor scored a team-high 18 points, while junior Brandon Boston tallied his second consecutive double-double with 11 points and a season-high 12 rebounds.
 
Terrandus Smith led all scorers with 19 points for the Bulldogs, while Samory Gueye poured in 17.
 

---

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Dyllan Taylor scored the first two points of the game on a layup just over a minute into the contest, and the Choctaws held an early 2-0 advantage.
 
The Bulldogs answered with the next 10 points, and they would not trail the rest of the night.
 
Bryson Butler hit a free throw for Union with 8:25 remaining to give the Bulldogs their largest lead of the first half at 26-11.
 
The Choctaws responded with a 12-0 run that was capped by a jump shot from Boston at the 5:10 mark to make the score 27-23.
 
The teams traded buckets over the final minutes and the Bulldogs would eventually carry a 37-32 lead into the halftime break.
 
Following Jacob Taylor's jumper to open the second half, the Bulldogs would score the next four points to push the lead back out to 41-34.
 
Dyllan Taylor converted a three-point play with 16:29 remaining that made the score 44-39, but Union would score the next eight points to take a 13-point lead.
 
The Bulldogs would eventually push their lead out to as many as 19 at 66-47 with 8:35 to go in the contest.
 
The Choctaw would not get any closer than 11 the rest of the way as Union grabbed the home victory.
 

---

 
GAME NOTES
 
Union pushed their advantage to 8-5 in the overall series.
 
The Choctaws are now 0-5 against Union in Jackson, Tenn.
 

---

 
NEXT UP
 
The Choctaws will be back home for the next two contests as they welcome Lee University (Jan. 24) and Alabama Huntsville (Jan. 26) to A.E. Wood Coliseum.
 

---

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.