Cawood leads Buffs to win over CIU

MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Jan. 18, 2020) – Jacob Cawood scored nine of his 24 points in the last three minutes of play to help the Milligan College men's basketball team pick up a 74-70 Appalachian Athletic Conference win over Columbia International University Saturday afternoon inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.

Final minutes of play

The Buffs were down by three with three minutes left before Cawood scored his third three-pointer of the night to tie the game 64-64. Cawood would then go on to score six points to help put Milligan ahead 70-64 with a minute and 17 seconds left.

CIU then scored two baskets to make the score 70-68 with 38 seconds left. Desean Green drew a foul six seconds later and sank both of his free throws to put the Buffs ahead by four. Milligan would then foul three times to send the Rams to the free throw line with 20 seconds left. CIU only made the first shot and Nathan Hastings rebounded the missed second shot and drew a foul. Hastings made both of his free throws with 16 seconds left and the Rams could not come back.

Overall game flow

It was back and forth the entire first half with six ties and seven lead changes. CIU led by two at the half off of .394 shooting. Trevor Hensley led the Buffs at the half with nine points and Hastings and Mike Featherston were behind him with six points, Featherston tacking on five rebounds as well.

The second half was similar to the first with seven ties and five lead changes. Featherston tied the game with a dunk in the first 11 seconds of the second half with an assist by Green. Milligan however would then trail by as many as six in the second half before Cawood's final three which gave the Buffs the momentum for the rest of the game.

By the numbers

19 of Cawood's 24 points came in the second half and three other Buffs joined him in double-digit scoring.  Hastings led next with 12 points going 2-for-3 from the three-point line and was 3-for-6 in overall shooting. Hensley finished with 11 points and two assists and Green nearly clinched a double-double with 10 points and nine assists, tying his career high in assists. Featherston finished the night with eight points, six rebounds and two blocks.  

Up next

Milligan will face Tennessee Wesleyan on Wednesday, Jan. 22, for another AAC matchup. The men's game will begin at 7:30 p.m., following the women's game at 5:30 p.m.