CLINTON, MS - The Mississippi College men's basketball team celebrated "Senior Day" with an 88-66 victory over East Texas Baptist on Saturday afternoon at A.E. Wood Coliseum.
A victory, coupled with a Texas-Tyler win over Ozarks sent the Choctaws (9-14, 7-12 ASC) to their 14th consecutive ASC Tournament, the most of any team in the American Southwest Conference.
MC honored three seniors playing in their final home games, and the veterans did not disappoint. Trevon Malone led the Choctaws with 28 points on 11-17 shooting from the floor.
Chad Jones tallied a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Marlon Ester just missed out on a triple-double with eight points, eight rebounds, and eight assists.
The Choctaws grabbed an early lead and pushed it out to as many as 17 points in the first half before going into the break with a 44-32 advantage.
In the second half, MC jumped out again and led 50-32 just two minutes in. The Tigers responded with 13-5 run to cut the game to 55-45 with 13:30 remaining.
MC got the spark they needed when ETBU head coach Bert West was called for two technicals and ejected just :19 seconds later. Ester would hit 3-4 free throws and the Choctaws would never look back.
Sophomore Connor Neuman got in on the act, making a three-pointer with 1:30 to go to give MC their biggest lead at 88-59.
Sophomore Brandon Blake was key to the opening minutes, scoring 10 points in the game.
ETBU was led by J.D. Richardson off the bench with 13 points, making 3-5 three-pointers. Monty Grays and Kerry McClahan each finished with 10 points.
The Choctaws shot 53% (29-55) from the floor and made 24-33 free throws.
MC will finish out the regular season on Monday night when they travel to Louisiana College for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.