CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College men's basketball team got 46 points from their bench on Thursday night in a 73-67 win over Talladega College in A.E. Wood Coliseum.

The Choctaws improved to 5-3 on the season, winning their second straight contest. The Tornadoes, ranked #10 in NAIA, fell to 10-3 on the season.
 

---

HOW IT HAPPENED
  - The teams stayed close in the first half until Willie Logan nailed a three-pointer with 8:53 to go to give the Choctaws their largest lead of the night at 15-8.
  - The Tornadoes bounced back with five straight points, but a three-point play by Zach Jones pushed the lead back out to a 25-19 with 2:34 left.
  - The Choctaws looked poised to take a lead into the break, but Morris Dunnigan hit a three-pointer in the final seconds to make the score 27-27 at the break.
  - The second half opened with five straight points for MC, but eight straight points for the Tornadoes gave them their first lead since the early minutes at 37-35 with 15:02 to go.
  - After Talladega took a 40-37 lead, the Choctaws scored nine straight to grab their largest lead of the second half as Winceton Edwards and TJ Ben hit back-to-back long balls to make the score 46-40 with 13:12 remaining.
  - The teams exchanged leads over the final minutes, but another three-pointer from Dunnigan with 2:27 to go tied the score at 64-64.
  - The biggest shot of the night came with 40 seconds remaining as Ben drilled a three-pointer to put MC ahead 69-64, capping a 5-0 run.
  - The Tornadoes cut the lead down to two, but Edwards hit four free throws down the stretch to clinch the victory.
 

---

KEY STATS
  - Edwards led the Choctaws with 23 points, hitting all nine of his free throws to go along with a 4-of-10 night from the three-point line.
  - The Choctaws shot 47% (23-of-49) from the field and held the Tornadoes to 42% (25-of-60).
  - MC hit 10-of-20 from the three-point line and went 17-of-24 from the foul line, including 14-of-16 in the second half.
  - The game featured 17 lead changes with most coming in the final 10 minutes of the second half.
  - Ben (15) and Jones (10) were also in double-figures, while Jacob Taylor led the way with five rebounds.
  - The Choctaws had seven different players with two assists on the night, while five different players blocked shots.
  - Dunnigan led Talladega with 23 points, while Darryl Baker and Phil Winston each had 14.
  - R.J. Kelly led all players with 12 rebounds in the contest.
 

---

GAME NOTES
  - The Choctaws are now 2-2 all-time against the Tornadoes with this being the first home win by either team in the series.
  - MC has won two straight for the first time this season, alternating wins and losses over the first seven contests.
  - Tonight's win was the 449th in the career of head coach Mike Jones.
 

---

NEXT UP
  - The Choctaws will have 10 days off before traveling to Memphis to face Christian Brothers on December 15th at 1:00 p.m.
 

---

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.