CLINTON, Miss. - The Mississippi College Choctaws opened up conference play with a 70-60 loss to West Alabama Thursday night at A.E. Wood Coliseum.

The Choctaws started off the contest on an impressive 8-0 run in the opening three minutes of play, before stretching their lead to 15-5 midway through the first half.

With the Choctaws leading 22-9 with 10 minutes left in the first half, the Tigers of West Alabama would go on a 17-2 run to take the lead 26-24 with three minutes to go until halftime. Both teams fought hard down the stretch of the first half with West Alabama taking a slight 32-30 lead into the break.

Through the first five minutes of the second half both teams would heat up offensively, trading possessions, with the Tigers holding a 40-38 lead with 15:23 remaining in regulation. A 7-0 run by West Alabama over the next three minutes would distance the Tigers lead to 47-38.

Over the final 10 minutes of play, West Alabama went on to cruise to a game best 12 point lead before ultimately defeating Mississippi College by final score of 70-60 on opening day of conference play.

The Choctaws had four scorers with 10+ points on the evening and were led by Tradavis Thompson with 14 points. Zach Jones finished with 12 points and a team best 7 rebounds, along with 3 assists.

Miles Miller had a stellar evening with 11 points and 3 assists while Galen Smith had 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. As a team the Choctaws finished 22-of-43 shooting with 30 points in the paint and 15 points off the bench.

Mississippi College falls to 2-4 overall on the season and 0-1 to begin conference play. The Choctaws return to the court on Saturday versus Alabama-Huntsville with tip-off beginning at 4 PM at A.E. Wood Coliseum.