CLINTON — The Mississippi College men’s basketball team could not overcome 16 made three-pointers by Christian Brothers University in a 79-68 loss on Thursday night in A.E. Wood Coliseum.

The Choctaws (7-9, 5-9 GSC) trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half, the latest being a 64-52 deficit to the Bucs (10-8, 7-7 GSC) with 14:45 remaining when Drew Hildreth his one of his four long balls on the night. As a team, CBU went 16-of-29 (55%) from beyond the arc.

MC would chip away at the advantage, and with 8:53 remaining, they trailed by just two with junior Giancarlo Santiago at the line. The Mississippi Gulf Coast CC transfer made 1-of-2 free throws and the lead for CBU was 62-61.

The Bucs would push the lead out to four on a three-pointer by Jeff Larkin, but junior Tristan Moore nailed two free throws to cut the score to 65-63 with 8:21 left.

CBU would score the next 10 points and never look back as they eventually won by the 11-point margin.

Four different Choctaws scored 11 points apiece, led by junior Tory Rice with the 11 points and eight rebounds. Freshman Stacey Mack had 11 points and six rebounds, while Moore and senior Emmanuel Ezejiofo also finished one point shy of a dozen.

MC went 5-of-14 (36%) from the three-point line themselves, and when senior Jay Case made one with 16:39 remaining in the 1st half, it marked the 450th straight game the Choctaws have drained a long ball. That streak dates back to March 5, 1998 when MC faced Sewanee.

The Bucs, who made just 12 two-point shots on the night, were led by Larkin with 19 points, going 4-of-8 from the three-point line and 7-of-12 from the field. Ryan Fleming finished with 15 points, nine assists and six rebounds.

The Choctaws will be back in action on Saturday when they host Union at 4:00 p.m. in A.E. Wood Coliseum.

BY: Choctaws Sports Information