Mississippi College erased a 20-point halftime deficit to defeat the LeTourneau University men's basketball team, 69-68 on Saturday afternoon. The Choctaws' Lakin Ford blocked a last-second layup by the YellowJackets' Aaron Frizell to hold off LeTourneau.
Ford scored the last five points en route to 18 points for the win for MC, who improve to 6-9 overall and 4-8 in the ASC. He was joined in double figures by Jaron Edwards (14 pts), Emmanuel Ezejiofo (12 pts.) and Rayner Fredrick (10 pts.).
LeTourneau, who drops to 3-13 overall and 2-11 in the ASC, was led by sophomore Ladaria Brown, who had 19 points to pace the YellowJackets. He was joined in double figures by senior Justin Jones, who had his ninth double double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds and sophomore Chris Hynes added 12 in the loss.
The YellowJackets dominated the opening 20 minutes, scoring a season-high 48 points on the strength of 52.6% shooting from the field including eight 3 pointers en route to a 48-28 halftime lead. One of the eight 3 pointers was at the end of the half when Hynes unleashed and connected on a shot from the MC free-throw line with the clock winding down. The potent offense for LeTourneau put the clamps on the MC offense, holding the Choctaws to 37% (10-for-27) shooting.
Momentum in the second half made its way over to Mississippi College in the second half including a 13-2 run to end the game for the victorious Choctaws. In the second half, MC outscored LeTourneau by a 22-4 margin on points in the paint and they shot 53.3% from the field to complete the comeback.
Next, LeTourneau will come home to face the University of Ozarks on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m. in Solheim Arena. The LETU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will be collecting canned goods prior to the game. Individuals who donate a canned good will receive a voucher for a free bag of popcorn.