CLINTON, MS - The Mississippi College men's basketball team held off a furious late rally to pick up a 79-73 overtime win over LeTourneau on Thursday night in A.E. Wood Coliseum.

The Choctaws (5-13, 4-11 ASC) looked to have things wrapped up when junior Adam Smith put them ahead 65-56 with 3:41 remaining.  The YellowJackets (4-16, 3-13 ASC) would not give up, however, as Cristian Driver hit a three-pointer to cap the rally with just three seconds left to send the game to an extra period.

In overtime, senior Marlon Ester made 5-6 free throws in the final :16 seconds to clinch the six-point victory.  Ester would score a career-high 19 points, going 4-8 from the three-point line, including one in overtime that gave MC the lead for good.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair as neither team gained more than a seven-point lead.  After trailing, 31-24, with 4:57 remaining in the half, the Choctaws went on a 14-3 run to close out with a 38-34 halftime advantage.

The second half was much of the same until the Choctaws took the nine-point lead on the bucket by Smith.  The Jackets would close out regulation on a 11-2 run.

Senior Trevon Malone led all scorers with 26 points, giving him 54 total points in the two meetings with LeTourneau.  Malone completed the double-double with 11 rebounds.  Adam Smith had 10 points and nine rebounds coming off the bench.

The Choctaws shot 51% (30-59) from the floor, but only went 13-25 from the free throw line to keep the Jackets in the game.

Driver led LeTourneau with 19 points on 7-16 shooting.  Four different YellowJackets finished in double-figures with Jourdan Hughes scoring 16 and Trey Perkins and Kendrae Carter tallying 11.

The Choctaws will be back in action on Saturday when they host Texas-Tyler at 3:00 p.m.