Buffs extend win streak to five with nonconference win

MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Jan. 30, 2020) – Four members of the Milligan College men's basketball team got to double figure scoring Thursday night in a 94-83 nonconference win over Johnson University.

Milligan leaderboard

The Buffs were led in scoring by senior Nathan Hastings who had a career high of 22 points going 8-for-10 in field goals, 4-for-4 in 3-pointers and sank both of his free throw shots. Behind Hastings, seniors Bo Pless and Desean Green both finished with 16 points and so did freshman Matt Cole. Pless was 4-for-7 with all of his shots being from the perimeter. He was also perfect from the free throw line. Green added on a team high of five rebounds and a game high of seven assists. Cole's 16 points were a career high for him as he was 5-for-6 in field goals and 3-for-3 in triples. Thirteen of Cole's 16 points came in the second half with 10 of them in the last four minutes of play.

Milligan had a season high of 16 3-pointers made, Pless and Hastings accounting for eight of the 16.

Game flow

The first half was a tight 20 minutes for both teams with Milligan going into the half only up by six. Johnson got on the board first but Milligan was able to regain the lead with a shot by Hastings. Johnson would then regain the lead right under the nine minute mark before Milligan would take it back for good with a shot by freshman Micah Paulk. Hastings went into the half with 15 points and the team overall was 17-for-28 in field goals.

At the beginning of the second half, Pless sank his third 3-pointer of the night, followed by Hensley with his second and Pless scored another 3-pointer after Hensley to help the Buffs extend their lead by 12, making the score 53-41 with over 17 minutes of play left. Milligan would remain in the lead for the rest of the game, extending it out by as many as 14 at one point.

Up next

Milligan will play at home on Saturday, Feb. 1, at 4 p.m. in an Appalachian Athletic Conference matchup against Point University. After that the Buffs will hit the road for three AAC games before returning home on Feb. 15.