CLINTON, MS. - Five players scored in double figures for Shorter as the Hawks defeated the Mississippi College Choctaws on the road in Gulf South Conference play on Saturday evening.

Four Hawks scored in the first seven minutes of the game, as Trevor McDade hit a three with 13:25 to go, giving Shorter (13-14, 8-13) an 11-8 lead. After the Choctaws tied the contest, Cole Birchfield put the Hawks in front by two, but Mississippi College (7-16, 6-15) went on an 11-0 run over 2:07. Trailing by nine, Shorter went on a 14-5 run of its own, led by Trevor McDade and Alijah Bennett- the only two Hawks to score during that time. McDade converted a layup, battling through the contact to get the foul call. After a made free throw, the score was tied at 30-30 with 5:05 to go.

Shorter closed the half on a 15-9 run to take a six-point lead into the intermission. Phil Taylor, the Hawks leading scorer, hit three 3's to spark the visitors, while McDade and Bennett each added four points to the run. At the break, Shorter led 45-39.

Three-point shooting allowed the Hawks to open up a six-point advantage as Shorter made 6 of 12 attempts from beyond the arc, while the Choctaws made only 2 of 11 tries. Each team shot nearly identical percentages in the opening half. Shorter shot 50%, and Mississippi College 48.4%.

As the final half began, the Choctaws outscored the Hawks 9-2, taking a 48-47 lead. Birchfield singlehandedly matched the MC run, hitting two 3's, giving SU a 53-48 lead with 14:51 until the final buzzer.

Birchfield made his third 3-pointer of the second half, while Potter added one of his own. The two players refused to allow the Choctaws to cut into the lead, keeping the Shorter advantage at six.

With his team in the lead, Bennett scored five points for the Hawks, outscoring Mississippi College 5-1, and helping Shorter take a double-digit lead for the first time with 10:37 to go in the game.

The Choctaws slowly chipped away at the Hawks lead and pulled within three, 76-73, just prior to the game's final media timeout.

Shorter took a five-point lead when Chris Daniels made a layup, but a three by Mississippi College's Stacey Mack made it an 80-78 game with 3:18 left. The Choctaws took a brief 81-80 lead, but Daniels answered, scoring his ninth point of the game and giving Shorter a slim advantage. Daniels quickly scored again via two free throws, pushing his point total to 11 and giving the Hawks an 84-81 lead.

Bennett put the exclamation point on the game, converting from beyond the 3-point line with 21 seconds remaining to put SU up five. When the final horn sounded, the Hawks came out ahead, 89-84.

Bennett led Shorter with 20 points, while Trevor McDade added 16 and Phil Taylor had 15. The Hawks shot better than 50% from long range, connecting on 13 of 25 three-point attempts.

Shorter will be back in action on Thursday, February 25. Tipoff for senior night against Lee University is set for 8 PM EST from Rome, Ga.