In front of a standing room only crowd in the Cooper Athletic Center, both teams put on a defensive clinic.
Maryville fell behind by five at the 11:20 mark in the first half and would quickly battle back to take the lead on a Raul Placeres steal and bucket at the 8:28 mark.
Both teams would trade buckets and key defensive stops throughout the first half with Maryville having only one three-point advantage with 3:21 remaining following a Sidney Ellis bucket.
The Choctaws would battle back and close out the half with a three-point bucket by Cary Plummer to put Mississippi College up at the half, 27-26.
The second half was a repeat of the first half effort. Mississippi held only one six-point advantage, but the Scots would battle within one point on nine seperate possessions.
"We did not make the plays at the end," stated Maryville Head Coach Randy Lambert. "They stepped up when they needed to." "You saw a real battle tonight!" "The fans saw two very good defensive teams that played a full 40 minutes."
Coach Lambert saw a contributing factor in the loss as the foul trouble MC was in created an even greater depth advantage for the Choctaws.
Mississippi ran out 14 players and rotated six post players to create a fatigue factor in the end of the game. The Choctaw rotation held Maryville to 40% shooting from the field from the evening.
"They took care of their free throws in the end and we did not take advantage of ours," stated Lambert.
Bobby Golden paced the Scots in the paint with 25 hard fought points. Bradley Blair was a key spark off the bench with an 11 point evening. Senior All-American Sidney Ellis helped MC with 12 points.
The Choctaws were led by freshman Tyler Winford and his 17 points.
Maryville finishes their season at 22-7. Mississippi College will advance to the "Sweet Sixteen" next weekend with a record of 24-4.