CLINTON, Miss. --- Mississippi College pulled off the thrilling victory on Monday night at home versus Tougaloo, defeating the Bulldogs by a final score of 70-67 in non-conference play.
The two teams battled it out on the hardwood for the entire 40 minute meeting, exchanging leads with each other a total of 15 times over the course of the contest.
In the first half of play, the Bulldogs got out to their largest lead with 6:07 to go until the break with a five-point advantage after a jump shot by Trajan Fielder. The bucket gave the Bulldogs the 25-20 lead.
Over the next two minutes,
Galen Smith and
Tradavis Thompson led MC on a 4-0 stretch, pulling MC back within one-point at 25-24.
The Bulldogs took the slight four point lead, 36-32, into the locker room at the the intermission. Three minutes into the second half, MC grabbed a two-point lead on three-point basket made by
Blayton Williams, as the Choctaws led 39-37.
The second half was a battle back and forth between the two teams, exchanging leads a total of 13 times in the 17 final minutes of regulation, including eight lead changes midway through the final half.
With 46-seconds left in play, MC reached their largest lead of the night on a
Justin Reid layup, giving the Choctaws the 66-62 advantage. Reid sealed off the final points in the final seconds of the game, knocking down a pair of free throws, as MC went on to win the thriller by a final of 70-67.
MC finished with two double-digit scorers on the night with
Tradavis Thompson leading the way with 23 points scored, while
Galen Smith totaled 20 points.
Thompson was 10-of-21 shooting from the floor in 40 minutes of action. The junior point guard also led MC with seven (7) rebounds.
Smith finished 9-of-11 from the field with a second best six (6) rebounds.
Miles Miller had a team best six (6) assists to go along with seven points and two steals.
Justin Reid tallied nearly 30 minutes of action, capping the night off with eight (8) points scored in the win.
As a team, MC finished 30-of-57 shooting and produced 46 total points in the paint. The Choctaws and Bulldogs exchanged leads 15 times on the night, with neither team getting higher than a five point lead in the contest.
Mississippi College improved to 9-7 overall on the season with the win. The Choctaws return to the court on Thursday night with GSC action at home versus Christian Brothers.
The two teams are set to tip-off beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the A.E. Wood Coliseum in Clinton, Miss.
