CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College men's basketball team opened Gulf South Conference play with a 69-66 overtime win over West Alabama on Saturday afternoon in A.E. Wood Coliseum.

The Choctaws improved to 3-2 with a 1-0 mark in GSC play, while the Tigers fell to 4-2 with an 0-1 league record.
 

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HOW IT HAPPENED
  - The Tigers were the first team to grab a substantial lead when they used a 6-0 run to take a 19-11 advantage with 9:01 remaining in the first half.
  - The Choctaw defense took over from there, allowing just nine points over the next 18 minutes of action.
  - It started with a 12-0 run from MC, capped by a layup from junior TJ Ben to give the Choctaws a 23-19 lead with 1:58 remaining in the half.
  - The Tigers would hit a shot in the final seconds of the half and the team would be tied 23-23 at the break.
  - Both teams battled to open the second half as neither squad could grab more than a five-point advantage for the entire second 20 minutes.
  - With 5:08 remaining in regulation, Ricky Dunnaway hit a jumper for West Alabama to tie the game at 43-43.
  - With 3:45 to go, Darron Johnson nailed a three-pointer for the Choctaws to give UWA a 49-45 lead.
  - MC scored the next six points to take the lead, but a layup from Dunnaway tied the game at 51-51 with under a minute remaining.
  - The teams would trade points and MC was unable to get a final shot off as the game went to overtime.
  - The Tigers took control in the opening minutes of the extra period and Mike Davis' layup with 2:33 remaining put them ahead 61-57.
  - The Choctaws answered with the next nine points to take a 66-61 lead as junior Winceton Edwards nailed a pair of free throws with 22 seconds remaining.
  - The Tigers would hit a three-pointer to cut into the lead, but sophomore Jacob Taylor hit two free throws to ice the victory.
 

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KEY STATS
  - Four Choctaws scored in double-figures on the night, led by junior Stefan Bozickovic with 15 points, adding to his 14 points from the first four games of the season.
  - Junior Winford Ross scored 14 points, while Edwards and Taylor each chipped in 10.
  - Sophomore Zach Jones pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, while Taylor had a team-high five assists.
  - Johnson led the Tigers with a game-high 21 points, while Dunnaway had 16 and LaJuan Hardy poured in 14.
  - The Choctaws shot 50% (25-of-50) from the field, including going 5-of-7 in the overtime period.
  - MC was 6-of-16 from long range and had 19 points off 16 West Alabama turnovers.
  - The Choctaws scored 32 points off the bench, holding the Tigers' bench to just nine points.
  - UWA shot just 39% (22-of-56) from the field and went 6-of-20 (30%) from the three-point line.
 

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GAME NOTES
  - The Choctaws and Tigers have split 70 meetings over the all-time series, with a 35-35 mark between the teams.
  - That was the first win for MC over UWA in Clinton since a 69-57 victory on January 23, 2016.
  - The last three games between the two schools have gone to overtime with UWA winning both last season by two points apiece.
  - MC's last overtime win came on December 18, 2017 with a 95-84 victory over Auburn Montgomery.
 

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NEXT UP
  - The Choctaws will hit the road to face Montevallo on Monday night at 7:30 p.m.
 

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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 began 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.