CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College men's basketball team celebrated "Senior Night" prior to Thursday night's game, but Delta State picked up the 68-63 win in A.E. Wood Coliseum.

The Choctaws fell to 8-16 with a 4-14 Gulf South Conference mark, while the Statesmen improved to 10-16 with a 6-12 league record.
 

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HOW IT HAPPENED
  - The Statesmen were able to grab the first early advantage of the game as they took a 12-5 lead with 14:04 remaining on a bucket from Maalik Cartwright.
  - MC would respond, however, scoring the next eight points and taking their first lead of the night when Winford Ross hit a jumper with 12:01 to go.
  - The game remained tight, and when Airen Brooks hit a three-pointer with 3:36 remaining the score was tied at 27-27.
  - The Choctaws scored 8-of-9 points to close the half and would take a 35-28 lead into the halftime break.
  - MC continued to extend the lead and when Stefan Bozickovic hit a jumper with 15:28 to go, the Choctaws had their largest lead of the night at 41-30.
  - The Statesmen would chip away at the lead and when Cartwright hit a jumper with 7:40 remaining, the score was tied at 48-48.
  - The teams traded three-pointers, but the Statesmen would take the lead for good with 4:47 to go on a bucket by Cartwright, making the score 55-54.
  - The Choctaws were able to get the deficit down to one possession in the final minute, but the Statesmen went a perfect 6-for-6 from the line to clinch the win.
 

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KEY STATS
  - The Choctaws shot 39% (24-of-61) from the field and 5-of-16 (31%) from the three-point line.
  - The Statesmen went 24-of-58 (41%) from the floor and 8-of-20 (40%) from long range.
  - The Choctaws outrebounded DSU 46-35 and outscored their bench, 37-0.
  - Jacob Taylor led MC with 11 points, while Zach Jones had nine points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
  - Cartwright led all scorers with 17 points, while Brooks had 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
 

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NEXT UP
  - The Choctaws will be on the road on Saturday to face Union University at 4:00 p.m. in the Fred Delay Gymnasium.
 

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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.