CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College men's basketball team opened their home schedule on Friday night, falling to Union University by a score of 75-61 in A.E. Wood Coliseum.

The Choctaws fell to 0-5 on the season, while the Bulldogs improved to 6-3.
 

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HOW IT HAPPENED
  - The Choctaws got off to a fast start by scoring the first four points on an Antonio Cowart Jr. jumper and a layup from Winford Ross.
  - The Bulldogs responded with a 7-2 run that gave them the lead for good with just under 17 minutes remaining in the first half.
  - Overall, it was a 16-4 run that gave them an eight-point lead, but five straight points from the Choctaws cut the score 20-17 with 10:03 to go.
  - Union answered with eight straight points and with 4:27 remaining a three-pointer from JC Clausi gave them their largest lead of the half at 33-20.
  - The Choctaws came back with a run of their own outscoring the Bulldogs 11-3 to end the half and trail just 36-31 at the break.
  - In the second half, Dillyn Neely knocked down a three to cut the deficit to 40-34 with 17:47 to go.
  - The Bulldogs put the game away with a 13-0 run that gave them their largest lead of the night at 53-34 with 12:52 to go.
  - The run was aided by a pair of technical fouls on MC that gave Union four straight free throw makes from Justin DeBuck.
  - The Choctaws were unable to get the deficit any lower than 12 the rest of the way as the Bulldogs clinched the road win.
 

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KEY STATS / NOTES
  - The Bulldogs now hold a 12-5 edge in the all-time series, including winning five straight for the first time in series history.
  - The Choctaws went 25-of-61 (41%) from the floor but were just 3-of-23 (13%) from long range and only 1-of-14 from the arc in the first half.
  - Union shot 23-of-49 (47%) from the field and went 6-of-16 (38%) from the three-point line.
  - The big difference came at the free throw line where MC went just 8-of-16 (50%) and the Bulldogs were 23-of-30 (77%).
  - The Choctaws outscored Union 38-28 in the paint and had 14 fast-break points on the night.
  - Union dominated the boards, pulling down 43 rebounds to just 29 for the Choctaws.
  - Brandon Boston led the Choctaws with 19 points, going 7-of-14 from the field and 5-of-6 from the foul line.
  - Cowart also scored in double-figures with 11 and had a team-high five assists.
  - Five Bulldogs scored in double-figures, led by 18 from DeBuck.
  - Ousmane Gueye had eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds off the bench.
 

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NEXT UP
  - The teams will wrap up the series on Saturday with game at 2:30 p.m. in Clinton.
 

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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.