HUNTSVILLE, Ala. --- The Mississippi College men's basketball team opened the 2020-21 season after an extended wait and dropped a thriller to #20 UAH, 73-72, on Saturday afternoon at Spragins Hall.

The Choctaws (0-1, 0-1 GSC) trailed by as many as 17 in the first half but completely erased the deficit and took a 72-69 lead in the final minute. The Chargers (3-1, 3-0 GSC) scored the final four points of the game to get the victory.

The teams will wrap up the two-game series on Sunday when they play again at 2:00 p.m. in Huntsville.
 

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HOW IT HAPPENED

  - The first few minutes were a back-and-forth affair as junior Marko Jovanovic hit a three-pointer to give MC a 7-2 lead just over two minutes into the game.
  - The Chargers would answer back and took their largest lead of the night at 39-22 after a 16-4 run was capped off by a bucket from Max Shulman with 4:07 to go in the first 20 minutes.
  - The Choctaws hung on in the final minutes and cut the lead to 44-35 at the halftime break.
  - UAH would keep MC at a distance and with 7:35 remaining, Sam Orf made a free throw to push the advantage out to 63-53.
  - The Choctaws would continue to chip away and with 2:55 remaining, Dyllan Taylor converted a three-point play to give MC their first lead since early in the game at 66-65.
  - With less than a minute remaining, Zach Jones hit a pair of free throws and gave the Choctaws a 72-69 lead, but it was the final points MC would score on the night.
  - The Chargers converted 4-of-4 free throws in their final two possessions to get the victory.
 

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KEY STATS / NOTES

  - The game saw seven lead changes and four tied scores.
  - The Choctaws shot 44% (26-of-59) from the field and went 15-of-20 (75%) from the free throw line.
  - Jovanovic and Brandon Boston each had a team-high 20 points.
  - Jovanovic went 6-of-10 fron the field and 4-of-7 from the three-point line, while Boston was 10-of-20 from the floor.
  - Antonio Cowart Jr. scored six points and had a team-high seven rebounds and six assists.
  - Taylor scored 15 points with four rebounds, going 5-of-6 from the field and 5-of-7 from the foul line.
  - The Chargers shot 40% (27-of-68) from the field and the MC defense held them to just 29% (9-of-31) in the second half.
  - They went 9-of-27 (33%) from the three-point line and 10-of-14 (71%) from the free throw line.
  - Shulman led the Chargers with a double-double, scoring 21 points with 12 rebounds.
  - Seth Swalve (17) and Orf (15) were also in double-figure scoring on the night.
  - The Chargers now hold a 10-8 lead in the all-time series, including a 6-3 edge in the matchup in Huntsville.
 

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NEXT UP
  - The teams will wrap up the series on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. They will meet again in Clinton to close out the regular season with a doubleheader on February 27 and 28.
 

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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 18 intercollegiate athletic programs: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Football, Men's and Women's 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.