CLINTON, Miss. -- Mississippi College came up short in Saturday night's Gulf South Conference opener by a final score of 31-28 to West Alabama.

West Alabama struck first with a two yard rushing touchdown to quickly go ahead 7-0 with 4:56 left in the first quarter of play. MC returned the favor in the second quarter with a 6-yard rushing touchdown by Sam Wilder to pull with 7-6 after a blocked PAT by UAW.

With 6:37 remaining in the half, Marcus Williams put MC on top with a 3-yard rushing touchdown to give MC the 14-7 lead after a successful two-point conversion. 

UWA knotted the score up at 14-14 with a touchdown with 4:44 left until halftime. The Choctaws and Tigers enter the break tied up at 14-14. 

In the second half of play, MC outscore UWA 7-0 in the third quarter to take 21-14 lead heading into the final 15-minutes of regulation. 

West Alabama scored 17-unanswered point in a nine minute period in the fourth quarter to take a 31-21 lead. MC rallied back with a 1:08 scoring drive on four plays, 46 yards that was capped off with a one yard rushing touchdown by DeAnte Smith-Moore to pull the Choctaws back with a 31-28 deficit. 

On the final drive of the game, West Alabama sealed the game with two third down conversions to run out the clock, giving the Tigers the 31-28 overall win against Mississippi College on Saturday night in Clinton.

Mississippi College was led by Cole Fagan who finished with 134 yards on the ground with one rushing touchdown. Fagan carried the ball a total of 23 times for the Choctaws including a long of 31 yards on the ground and 5.8 yards per carry.

DeAnte Smith-Moore finished 3-for-7 through the air with 34 yards. Wide Receiver Jacob Stephens totaled two receptions for 45 yards on the night. 

Defensively, MC was led by Josh Miller with six total tackles, three solos and three unassisted tackles. As a team, MC had 306 yards of total offense.

Mississippi College fell to 1-2 overall on the season and 0-1 in GSC play. They return to the field next Saturday for the first away contest of the 2021 season at North Greenville. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. CST in Tigerville, S.C.