CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College men's basketball team closed out the 2018-19 season with a tough 79-77 overtime loss to West Alabama on Thursday night in A.E. Wood Coliseum.

The Choctaws wrapped up the year with a 7-18 record and a 4-16 mark in the Gulf South Conference, while the Tigers are 21-6 and 16-4 in league play and will head to the GSC Tournament as the #2 overall seed.
 

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TURNING POINT

>> With 5:44 to go in the game, the Tigers hit a pair of free throws to push their advantage out to 67-55, their largest lead of the night.
>> MC would score 10 straight points, highlighted by six from senior Isaiah Austin, to cut into the lead and eventually send the game to overtime.
 

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KEY STATS

>> The Choctaws went 26-of-55 (47%) from the floor and went 4-of-10 from the three-point line on the night.
>> The Tigers were 27-of-54 (50%) from the field and outscored MC 33-12 from the three-point line, going 11-of-24 from long range.
>> MC outrebounded the Tigers, 36-25, and scored 11 second-chance points to none for the Tigers.
>> Five Choctaws scored in double-figures, led by 19 from junior Brandon Boston, who came off the bench for just the second time this season.
>> Austin started for the fourth time this season and tied a season-high with 15 points, going 6-of-11 from field with 12 points in the second half and overtime.
>> Senior Howard Thomas put up 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting with six rebounds.
>> The final senior that played on Thursday night, Marcus Lytle, put up 12 points and went 8-of-8 from the free throw line.
>> LaJuan Hardy led all scorers with 22 for West Alabama, going 6-of-9 from the three-point line with eight assists.
 

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HOW IT HAPPENED

>> Prior to the game, the Choctaws recognized four seniors playing their final games with Mississippi College in Austin, Lytle and Thomas to go along with Davy Fisher, who missed the game due to illness.
>> The Choctaws got going quickly as Thomas scored the first five points of the game to take an early lead.
>> The Tigers used a 9-0 run of their own to grab a 15-9 lead with 11:41 remaining in the first half as Hardy made one of his six three-pointers.
>> MC responded with an 8-0 sprint as Boston capped off the run with a jumper to make the score 17-15 with 8:52 to go.
>> The Choctaws used another 6-0 run later in the half and would eventually take a 33-31 lead into the break.
>> The second half saw Hardy get going again and when Tyrus Grayson threw down a dunk, UWA had their largest lead of the night at 63-51 with 8:39 to go.
>> The lead would be back at 12 with 5:44 to go, but the Choctaws went on a 10-0 run that cut the score to 67-65 with 2:43 to go as Boston hit a pair of free throws.
>> The Tigers extended the lead back out to four on the next posssession, but MC responded with a jumper from Austin with 1:57 to go to make the score 69-67.
>> With just under 30 second remaining, Boston drove down the baseline and scored the game-tying bucket to send the game to overtime.
>> In the extra period, the Tigers pushed the lead out to 78-72 with 2:13 remaining, but a layup from Boston and a three-pointer from junior Tre Jenkins cut the score to 78-77 with 1:12 to go.
>> The score remainined at one point until the final seconds when the Tigers hit 1-of-2 frree throws, giving MC one final opportunity, but they were unable to get a shot off.
 

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NEXT UP

>> The Choctaws have wrapped up the 2018-19 campaign and the next contest will be to open the 2019-20 season. The schedule has yet to be released for next season.
 

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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.