JACKSON, Tenn. - The Union University men's basketball team posted a 74-69 win over Mississippi College Thursday night at Fred DeLay Gymnasium/David Blackstock Court. Union improved to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the Gulf South Conference. Mississippi College lost for the first time, dropping to 2-1 overall and 0-1 in league play. 

Union head coach David Niven said of the win, "This was a great win. Great win and I think that was a very good team. They are going to beat a lot of teams this year in our league. Jeremiah Littlepage and Jalen Johnson stepped up their game tonight. If they do not step, we do not win tonight. We built a good cushion early in the second half and it is a good thing we had that cushion because we needed it down the stretch. Our team is going to get better in those late game situations. We are working on that every single day and will continue for a long time to improve handling the basketball."

Mississippi College opened the game with a three-pointer, but Union responded with an 8-0 run to take the lead. MC tied the game at 10, but Union's Justin Debuck hit a three to put Union back on top. The Choctaws regained the lead briefly at 24-23, but Union answered with five straight to regain the lead for good. Union led 33-29 at the half. 

Union opened the second half on fire. Over the first six minutes, Union outscored MC 18-4 to take an 18-point lead, 51-33. The run was capped by a 3-pointer from Layne Sarver and Jeremiah Littlepage scored 10 of the 18 points in the run. MC did not go away and chipped away at the Bulldog lead, getting the final down to five points, 74-69. 

Union was led by Littlepage with 22 points, including 12 in the second half. Boe Nguidjol added 19 points and Jalen Johnson scored 18 points. Johnson grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and Justin Debuck led with eight assists. The Bulldogs shot 45 percent from the field, 33 percent (6-18) from 3-point range, and 78 percent (14-18) from the free throw line. 

Mississippi College was led by Galen Smith with 21 points and Bee McCrary with 12 points. Miles Miller led with nine rebounds and eight assists. The Choctaws shot 39 percent from the field, 26 percent (5-19) from long range, and 80 percent (8-10) from the free throw line. 

Up next for Union is a second straight GSC home game, Saturday, November 19 at 4 p.m. versus Delta State University. 

-UNION-