>>01.19.06
ASC East Leader Mississippi College Pays Comets Back For ASC Title Loss
Mississippi College 76, UTD 66

CLINTON, MS - The last time the UTD men's basketball team faced nationally-ranked Mississippi College on the Choctaws' home floor, UTD guard Martin Salinas lit up MC for 26 points, hitting six three-point shots in UTD's 73-55 American Southwest Conference championship game win.

Thursday night, the ASC East Division-leading Choctaws returned the favor by tossing in nine long-range bombs on their way to a 76-66 win over the Comets. Salinas again led his team in scoring, but had to settle for just 16 points and one three-point shot.

The win actually required quite a rally for the 13-1, 10-1 MC team, which trailed the Comets (4-10, 4-7) at halftime, 33-29. After scoring the final five points of the first half, MC opened the second period with a 13-8 run to go up 46-37 with 14:39 remaining. UTD fought back to cut the lead down to three (65-62) with 3:37 remaining, but went cold in the final minutes, scoring just twice more from the floor.

After holding the Choctaws to a 37 percent shooting performance in the first half, the Comets allowed MC to hit 16-of-25 (.640) in the second half and were hurt by six three-pointers. The Choctaws also dominated the boards, out-rebounding UTD, 43-24, for the game.

Adam Bush also added 16 points for the Comets while Travis Carruthers put in 11.

BOXSCORE