CLINTON, Miss. - The Mississippi College Choctaws took nationally ranked Union down to the wire in Saturday evening's  71-68 loss at home.

MC led midway through the first half, leading 12-7 before a Bulldogs run of nine points, as Union would retake the lead 16-12. 

Union closed out the first half outscoring MC 17-14, as the Choctaws trailed 33-26 at the break. Mississippi College fell behind 10 points, 49-39, with 11:53 on the clock in regulation, mounting a 17-6 run over the next nine minutes of action to take the lead 56-55 on a Galen Smith jumper with 6:15 left to go.

With 2:05 remaining in the game, MC led 66-64, however the No. 25 ranked Bulldogs closed out the final minutes on a 7-4 run, to ultimately come out on top by a final of 71-68.

Gaylen Smith had a stellar night with 30 points and 10 rebounds, going 12-for-20 from the field, earning the double-double.

Lamont Berzat had a second best 12 points with a team high six assists. Miles Millers finished tied with Berzat with the team lead in assists with six. Miller added five points and a Choctaw best four steals.

MC finished 26-of-66 from the field, including 34 points in the paint, and 39 points off the bench. MC falls to 3-7 overall on the season and 1-3 in GSC play.

Mississippi College returns to action on Monday afternoon versus Christian Brothers with tip-off set for 4 p.m. at A.E. Wood Coliseum.