CLINTON, Miss. – The Auburn University at Montgomery Warhawks men's basketball team (4-16, GSC: 2-12) defeated the Mississippi College Choctaws (9-11, GSC: 6-8) 76-74 in a Gulf South Conference overtime thriller from Clinton, Mississippi on Saturday evening.
 
COACH BROOKS' COMMENTS
"This group didn't flinch. They kept working, trusted the game plan, and earned a hard-fought road win. It's been a tough stretch where we've come up short, but I'm proud of the way they competed tonight. We needed this one, and now we're focused on pushing through the final stretch."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Colby Williams began the day with a pair of early three-point buckets that gave the Warhawks a 10-6 lead. The Choctaws were able to tie up the score at 10 points apiece, however, AUM was able to maintain their advantage led by five points from Marius Canery.
 
Mississippi College found some momentum and scored the next seven points to take a 21-18 lead with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half.
 
AUM wasted no time recovering as Canery made a layup and Jamarious Martin nailed a triple to put the Warhawks in front 23-21.
 
Both teams continued to battle with the Choctaws going up by six points and AUM responding to keep the score tied at 33-33.
 
The home team scored three points in the last minute of the first half, heading to the locker room with a 36-33 lead over the Warhawks.
 
Second Half
The exchange of points continued in the second half with Mississippi College taking a five point advantage before the orange and black tied it up at 40 points apiece.
 
The next two minutes of play saw six lead changes with neither side leading by more than one point. It was the Choctaws who pulled ahead led by three-pointers from Tremaine Dixon and Avaughn Johnson to help give MC their largest lead of the night at 57-49.
 
Elhadji Thiam was the next to score, banking in a triple to give the Warhawks the momentum they needed. Points from Martin and Thiam followed before Omar Zeigler drained a three to cut AUM's deficit to 61-59.
 
The opponents scored the next four points, but again Zeiglers triple fell and he was able to make it a one-point game with his next layup.
 
Mississippi College took the next two points, but Canery put the orange and black in front at 68-67 with his jumper at 3:15.
 
Both teams showed solid defense over the final three minutes, with the only point being scored coming from a MC free throw to tie the game at 68-68.
 
Each side took a three-point attempt before the final whistle, but just like the women's game a few hours earlier, the fight needed an extra five minutes.
 
Overtime
After a thrilling 40 minutes of basketball, the overtime period began with two points from the Choctaws. Colby Williams scored AUM's first six points in overtime, giving the Warhawks a 74-72 advantage with two minutes remaining.
 
With just over one minute on the clock, Thiam drew a foul and sank both of his shots to extend AUM's lead to 76-72.
 
Mississippi College cut the difference to two points with 13 seconds left, and a big time block by Avaughn Johnson gave MC another chance to score. Nelson's layup was no good resulting in a 76-74 road victory for the Warhawks.
 
NOTABLES

• Colby Williams led the Warhawks with 19 points while shooting 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from the field.
• Marius Canery posted 14 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.
• Jamarious Martin recorded 13 points with a 60 percent (6-of-10) shooting percentage.
• Omar Zeigler and Elhadji Thiam each scored 11 points.
• AUM had all five starters score in double figures.
• The Warhawks shot 45.9 percent (28-of-61) from the field and scored 32 points in the paint.
• With nine tied scores and 17 lead changes, neither team led by more than eight points the entire game.
• This marks the first time that AUM has played in an overtime period since they fell to Union during the 2022-23 season.

UP NEXT
The Warhawks return to Montgomery to face Christian Brothers on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m. for Greek Night.
 
 
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