CLINTON – Devin Jones had just one field goal go down Saturday afternoon but plenty of free throws did. So many, in fact, that Jones took over as the top free throw shooter for Mississippi College.

The former Vicksurg Gator scored 11 points in the Choctaws’ easy 66-45 American South Conference win over an outmanned club from the University of Texas at Tyler at A.E. Wood Coliseum. Jones was a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line, increasing his season average to 81.6 percent.

&#8220I think that’s 17 straight over the last two games,” Jones said after the game.

He entered the contest as the Choctaws’ leading scorer at 14.7 points per game. Despite being held to three under his season average, Jones remains the leader in that category, too.

What Jones wants to do most, however, is to the lead the Choctaws (13-1, 11-0 ASC) back to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Last year, as a junior, Jones helped the Choctaws reach the third round of the NCAAs.

MC won its first two playoff games at home but then lost a third round game to Transylvania 74-66 to finish 29-2.

&#8220Winning the two games was great for us but we also learned something in the loss to Transylvania. We can’t underestimate any team. Things didn’t swing our way,” Jones said.

Jones knows about success in the playoffs. As a senior under VHS coach Dellie C. Robinson, he led the Gators to the Class 5A title, beating a favored Starkville High club led by current Portland Trailblazer forward Travis Outlaw in the championship game.

After Vicksburg, Jones became an all-star guard for Southwest Community College in Summit. He then signed with Mississippi College, playing his junior season under Ed Lofton.

This season, MC athletic director Mike Jones returned to the bench after a seven-year absence. D.J. says the Choctaws haven’t missed a beat.

&#8220Coach Jones expects more out of us. We wants us to do the right things out there. His style of play isn’t that much different from Coach Lofton’s, except he does like to punish teams more inside,” D.J. Jones said.

Mike Jones likes the versatilty D.J. and the other Choctaw starters can bring to his offense.

&#8220We’ve got a bunch of guys who can score. We don’t have to depend on just D.J. or (Timothy) Broomfield to score for us,” Mike Jones said.

&#8220Today, Tyler zoned us and they covered up D.J. pretty good. But he doesn’t have to rely on shooting from the perimeter. He can drive it to the basket.”