The Mississippi College men’s basketball team erased an 18-point first half deficit on their way to a 72-66 win over Spring Hill College on Saturday afternoon in A.E. Wood Coliseum.
KEY STATS
– Senior DeOndre Haynes led the Choctaws with 19 points, scoring 15 in the second half, with eight rebounds and five assists.
– Juniors Antonio Johnson (16) and Stacey Mack (13) were also in double-figures with Mack and senior Byron McCall joining Haynes with a team-high eight boards.
– The Choctaws shot 50% (13-of-26) from the field in the second half after shooting just 35% (11-of-31) from the floor in the first 20 minutes.
– MC went 17-of-19 (89.5%) from the foul line, including going 12-of-14 (86%) in the second half.
– The Choctaw defense held Spring Hill to just 26% (10-of-38) shooting from the field in the second half.
– The Badgers had 19 assists on 26 field goals, led by seven helpers from Jared Holland.
– Walter Massey had a team-high 20 points, while Raphael Jones scored 14 points, going 4-of-10 from the three-point line.
HOW IT HAPPENED
– Antonio Johnson hit a three-pointer with 16:01 remaining in the first half, cutting Spring Hill’s early lead to 8-7.
– The Badgers went on an 11-2 run, capped by a layup from William Loyd that made the score 19-9 with 12:55 remaining in the first 20 minutes.
– Spring Hill would go on another run, outscoring MC 16-4 over an eight-minute stretch to grab their largest lead of the game, 35-17, with 3:36 to go in the first half.
– Johnson’s three-pointer in the final seconds of the first half cut the score to 43-31 at the break.
– MC went on a 12-0 run over the end of the first and the beginning of the second halves, capped by a layup from Haynes.
– Johnson’s fourth three-pointer of the night with 5:50 to go in the game gave the Choctaws their first lead of the night, 61-60.
– The Choctaws held Spring Hill scoreless over the final 1:30 of the game to hang on for the four-point win.
GAME NOTES
– The Choctaws are now 8-5 all-time against Spring Hill and 5-0 when the teams play in Clinton.
– Head coach Don Lofton won his 199th career game in his 13th season at the helm.
– The Choctaws have now trailed by double-figures in their first two games of the season (both wins).
NEXT UP
– The Choctaws will open Gulf South Conference play on Thursday (Dec. 1) night when they host rival Delta State at 7:30 p.m. in A.E. Wood Coliseum.