CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College men's basketball team will play their first home game of 2019 on Thursday night when they host #14 Valdosta State University. Tip-off in A.E. Wood Coliseum is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

The Choctaws will look to snap a four-game losing streak on Saturday afternoon when they host West Florida. Tip-off in A.E. Wood Coliseum is scheduled for for 4:00 p.m.
 

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GAME INFORMATION

Matchup: Mississippi College Choctaws (4-6, 1-4 GSC) vs. Valdosta State Blazers (12-2, 5-1 GSC)
Date: Thursday, January 10th, 2019
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Clinton, Miss. | A.E. Wood Coliseum

Matchup: Mississippi College Choctaws (4-7, 1-5 GSC) vs. West Florida Argonauts (4-11, 0-7 GSC)
Date: Saturday, January 12th, 2019
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Location: Clinton, Miss. | A.E. Wood Coliseum
 

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SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE

The Choctaws are led by 15th-year head coach Don Lofton, who has posted a career record of 217-162 (.573). He is joined on the bench by first-year assistant coach Alex Ainsworth and former Choctaw Otis Harvey as a graduate assistant. In their last outing, MC trailed just 44-41 at halftime to #14 Valdosta State, but the Blazers would pull away for a 95-77 victory in Clinton.

Junior Brandon Boston (15.9 ppg) leads the Choctaws and ranks 5th in the Gulf South Conference in scoring. Senior Marcus Lytle (13.6 ppg) and sophomore Dyllan Taylor (9.6 ppg) each led the Choctaws with 17 points against VSU. Taylor's 17 was a career-high and he leads the Choctaws with 4.1 assists per contest.

Junior Tre Jenkins (10.1 ppg) is also averaging in double-figures for the Choctaws, shooting 40% from the three-point line. Junior Scot Hundt (5.3 ppg) hit three 3-pointers against Valdosta, while senior Isaiah Austin (5.7 ppg) had a team-high eight rebounds.
 

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SCOUTING VALDOSTA STATE

The Blazers, who are led by 14th-year head coach Mike Helfer, opened the season with nine straight wins, including scoring 100 or more points in three contests. VSU leads the GSC in scoring (91.0 ppg) but ranks last in the league in scoring defense (75.4 ppg).

Beau Justice (21.8 ppg) is the reigning GSC Player of the Year and ranks 2nd in the league in scoring. He is shooting 45% from the three-point line and has scored 20 or more points eight different times. Justice scored a VSU record 47 points in a win over Fort Valley State on December 10th.
 

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SCOUTING WEST FLORIDA

The Argonauts are led by 4th-year head coach Jeff Burkhamer, who was named GSC Coach of the Year in 2017-18 after leading UWF to a program record 17 conference wins. The Argos have struggled out of the gate this season, losing nine of their last 10 games, including a 71-62 defeat at Delta State on Thursday.

Senior Rashaan Benson (13.7 ppg) and freshman Jon Brown (12.1 ppg) are the only two Argos to average in double-figures and start all 15 games this season. Senior Jarrett Henderson (8.2 ppg) has a team-high 6.8 rebounds per game, while Benson leads the squad with 48 assists.
 

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GAME NOTES

This will be the 35th all-time meeting between the two schools with each team winning 17 games in the series.

The nationally-ranked Blazers won the lone meeting last season and have a four-game winning streak going, overall.

MC's last win over VSU came on December 19, 2015 in an 89-88 overtime victory in Valdosta, Ga.

This will be the 13th all-time meeting between the two schools with the Argonauts holding an 8-4 edge in the series.

UWF has won five straight, including sweeping the season series in 2017-18.

MC's last victory over the Argos came on December 17, 2015 with an 84-82 win in Pensacola.
 

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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.