VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Valdosta State men's basketball team took their opponent into overtime for the fourth time this season but fell one point short, as the Mississippi College Choctaws snapped the Blazers three game winning streak with an 89-88 Gulf South Conference victory at The Complex on Saturday in Valdosta, Ga.

The Choctaws evened up their conference record at 3-3 while improving their overall record to 4-4 on the season. Meanwhile, the loss for Valdosta State marked only the third defeat of the season for the Blazers, who fell to 8-3 overall and 4-2 in GSC play. Notably, all three of Valdosta State's losses thus far have come in games that required an overtime period.

Valdosta State trailed the contest for the entire first half, and although the Blazers knotted the contest up at 38-38 less than two minutes into the second frame, VSU never claimed a lead until Justin Simon connected from point blank range to put the Blazers on top 51-50 at the 11:16 mark. As the two teams exchanged buckets, the narrow lead held for Head Coach Mike Helfer's squad for nearly five minutes, before the Choctaws used a layup by Johnny Rucker to tie the contest up at 64-64. Saadiq Muhammad flushed a one-handed dunk home after an offensive board to put the Blazers back on top, but MC's Tory Rice answered with layups on MC's next two possessions by Tory Rice, which allowed the Choctaws to reclaim a 68-66 advantage with under five minutes remaining in the half.

As the minutes ticked away, Valdosta State traded scores with the Choctaws to keep the contest within reach, before Chris Bilbo was fouled with 2:02 to play in regulation. The Blazer point guard used the opportunity to score two of his 12 points in the game on a pair of free throws and knot it back up at 76-76. Mississippi College's Deondre Haynes hit a layup on the ensuing possession, but Bilbo sliced through the lane to net a close shot in the final minute and send the game to overtime.

The overtime period featured six lead changes, three of which occurred withing the final minute. Jonathan McGee took advantage of three-point play opportunity to put the Choctaws in front 87-86 with 0:46 on the clock. The Blazers retaliated with a layup with a layup by Muhammad with 11 seconds to play, but McGee drove to the basket and rolled one in over the outstretched arms of two Blazer defenders to give the Choctaws the 89-88 lead. Valdosta State's Chris Longoria, who scored a career-high 28 points in the game, saw one final look just before the final buzzer sounded, but the long shot from the left wing didn't fall.

Longoria, who came into the night with just two points scored over the course of two games played thus far in 2015, finished the night 10-of-19 from the field and 5-of-11 from three point range to help the Blazers post a 54.5 shooting effort. The Choctaws delivered their highest shooting percentage of the season at 56.1 percent, however, and Rucker's season high 24-point night helped fuel the win for Mississippi College.

Next up for the Blazers is a brief break in the schedule for the holiday season, with the team's next contest scheduled for a road matchup in Memphis, Tenn. against the Christian Brothers Bucs. The GSC matchup is slated for a 5:00 p.m. EST start on January 2nd.