Union Men’s Basketball Earns Road Win Over Mississippi College

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CLINTON, Miss. – Five Bulldogs scored in double-figures, Parker Applegate and Jack Shackelford posted double-doubles, and a strong second half propelled Union University men’s basketball to a 72-64 road win over Mississippi College on Thursday night.

The Choctaws sugarcoated the scoreline with a 10-0 run once play had become meaningless, but the Bulldogs held a 72-54 advantage with less than a minute to play after churning out a 38-26 second-half stretch that inflated a six-point halftime lead.

This lead was attained in a sudden and scintillating fashion: after 17 level, low-scoring minutes–the teams were knotted at every odd number from 11 to 21–CJ Jackson gave Union a 25-23 lead with a three-pointer. The next possession, Isaiah Victor claimed one for himself, making the lead five, and then it was Victor again with another three on the third possession, and the Bulldogs had an eight-point lead seconds after a deadlock. Mississippi College responded with a Rashad Bolden three and a 5-0 run–the leading Choctaw scorer, who averages 23.7 points, can shoot too–but his heave was undone by, of course, Victor again, who had just made his third three in 99 seconds. Union never trailed after Jackson’s shot.

The teams traded baskets for a bit of the second frame before 9-2 and 11-2 Bulldog spurts delivered the game into Union’s hands.

Union out-shot the hosts from the beyond the arc at rates of .429 to .190. Both teams tried 21 times; the Bulldogs made nine and the Choctaws four.

Union will remain in Mississippi for a showdown with Delta State on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.

Post-game notes:

Union remains perfect on the season (8-0) when holding opponents to 75 points or fewer. The Bulldogs’ win over Mississippi College was their first of the season (1-5) when failing to score 73.

Union also remains unblemished (8-0) when shooting at least .440 from the floor and when opponents are held to sub-.420 shooting (7-0). The Bulldogs are 4-0 when shooting .400 or better from beyond the arc and 7-0 when holding opponents under .250 in the category.

Five Bulldogs finished in double-figure scoring against Mississippi College on Thursday for the first time since a December 13 win over Christian Brothers.

Parker Applegate (16 points, 10 rebounds) posted his 12th game in double-figure scoring and seventh with 15 points. Thursday was his sixth double-double of the season, his fifth in seven games, and his eighth game with 10-plus rebounds. Applegate has 170 rebounds on the season and 9.4 per contest–both are second in the GSC.

Jack Shackelford (13 points, 10 rebounds) recorded his career-highs in scoring and rebounding, along with his first career double-double on Thursday. In the second double-figure scoring night of his career, the freshman surpassed his previous highs of 11 points and seven rebounds. In the absence of Jeremiah Littlepage, Shackelford made his first career start and played a career-high 36 minutes after averaging just 10.3 minutes in 15 previous contests.

Isaiah Victor (15 points, 5-7 3PT) joined Parker Applegate as the second Bulldog to connect on five three-point attempts in a game this season. (Applegate performed the feat when he went 5-5 against UAH on January 2.) Thursday’s contest was Victor’s fourth 10-point game of the season; he was a point off his season-high. Victor is 21-48 (.438) from three-point range this season and leads the team among those with 30 attempts.

CJ Jackson (15 points, four rebounds) has scored 10 or more points for 14 straight games (17 overall) and 15-plus in 11. On the GSC leaderboard, Jackson is seventh with 18.3 points per game.

Five-time GSC Freshman of the Week Judson Bjornstad (10 points, five rebounds), compiled his seventh and second-straight 10-point night. Thursday was his 12th outing with five boards.

Kaleim Taylor was held scoreless for the first time this season. He finished 0-6 from the field in 23 minutes.

Since Mississippi College re-joined the GSC in the 2014-15 season, Union has won 16 of 21 meetings between the teams.

After opening GSC play 3-0, the Bulldogs suffered a five-game losing streak before rattling off four consecutive wins. They sit tied for fourth in the conference through Thursday’s action with a 7-5 league record.

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