VALDOSTA, Ga. --- The Mississippi College men's basketball team had five players score in double-figures, including a career-high 16 from senior Howard Thomas, but Valdosta State was able to grab a 106-90 victory on Thursday night in The Complex.

The Choctaws fell to 5-16 overall with a 2-14 Gulf South Conference record, while the Blazers improved to 19-5 and 12-4 in the league.
 

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TURNING POINT

- With 6:33 remaining in the first half, a layup from senior Marcus Lytle cut the VSU lead to 35-28, but the Blazers would go on a 16-4 run over the final minutes of the period to take a 51-32 lead into the break.
 

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KEY STATS

- The Choctaws went 38-of-74 (51%) from the floor, including 23-of-39 (59%) in the second half.
- The Blazers, however, were 35-of-59 (59%) from the field and 14-of-28 (50%) from the three-point line.
- MC was also 7-of-15 from the foul line, while VSU was 22-of-23.
- The Choctaws outrebounded the Blazers by a count of 34-32, including grabbing 13 offensive boards.
- MC also scored 60 points in the paint to 42 for the Blazers, also pouring in 36 bench points.
- Thomas went 8-of-11 from the floor on his way to a career-high 16 points, also pulling down six boards in his first start of the season.
- Lytle scored 15 points for the Choctaws, going 3-of-5 from the three-point line.
- Junior Brandon Boston scored 13 points, while seniors Isaiah Austin (13) and Davy Fisher (10) came off the bench to score in double-figures.
- Jacob Taylor scored nine points for the Choctaws, finishing just one shy of giving MC six players in double-figure scoring for the first time since December of 2011.
- Reigning GSC Player of the Year Beau Justice scored a game-high 27 points, while Winston Morgan score 26, including going 8-of-11 from the three-point line.
 

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HOW IT HAPPENED

- The Blazers scored the game's opening bucket, but a three-pointer on the ensuing possession by Lytle gave the Choctaws a 3-2 advantage.
- VSU would take the lead right back on their next time with the ball and would not relinquish the advantage the rest of the night.
- They would push the advantage out to as many as 16 in the opening minutes, but a 9-0 run by the Choctaws that included six straight points from freshman Jacob Taylor cut the advantage back to 35-28.
- The Blazers responded with a 16-4 run to close the half and take a 19-point advantage into the break.
- In the second half, VSU would extend the lead out to as many as 29 with 4:30 remaining, but MC closed the contest on an 18-5 run to give the game its final score.
 

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NEXT UP

- The Choctaws will be back on the road on Saturday when they face West Florida in Pensacola at 4:00 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 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.