CLINTON, MS - Senior Trevon Malone had a career night for Mississippi College with 30 points and 15 rebounds, but it was not enough as Hardin-Simmons picked up an 82-75 win on Saturday afternoon at A.E. Wood Coliseum.
The Choctaws (3-8, 2-7 ASC) jumped out to a 12-2 advantage in the early going, but the Cowboys (11-1, 8-0 ASC) bounced back to take a 42-36 lead into the hafltime break.
Overall, from the 2:23 mark in the first half to the 14:32 mark in the second, HSU outscored MC, 27-8 to take a 60-41 lead.
The Choctaws would not quit, however, as they cut the lead to 78-74 with :29 seconds remaining on a layup by Malone. The Cowboys made all four of their free throw attempts in the final seconds to clinch the victory.
Malone, a senior from Memphis, TN, went 11-17 from the floor, 8-12 from the free throw line, and pulled down 10 offensive rebounds in the contest. Senior Chad Jones added to the rebounding total, grabbing 11 boards.
Sophomore Brandon Blake scored 20 points and had a team-high four assists, going 7-16 from the floor and 6-8 from the foul line. Overall, the Choctaws went 22-35 from the charity stripe.
For the Cowboys, Matt Addison, the nation's second-leading scorer, tallied 23 points on 8-24 shooting. Addison also tallied seven assists in the contest.
Derrick Jefferson led HSU with 22 points, while Andy Spears tallied a team-high 12 rebounds.
In the second half, Hardin-Simmons shot 53% (16-30) from the floor and made 9-23 three-pointers in the game. The Choctaws shot 42% from the field, but just made 3-13 three's.
The Choctaws will get back on the road to face Centenary College on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. in Shreveport, LA.