Milligan holds off late rally to defeat Bryan 

DAYTON, Tenn. (Feb. 19, 2020) – Desean Green put the Milligan College men's basketball team on the board in the first minute of play and the Buffs never trailed the entire game as they defeated the Lions of Bryan College 85-76 Wednesday night on the road. 

With tonight's win, head coach Bill Robinson picked up his 400th career win. "Winning number 400 with this group is extra special," Robinson said. "This is a fun group to coach and celebrate with."

Game flow 

The game saw two ties, both in the first half, and Milligan having a lead by as many as 19 at one point in the second. The Buffs jumped out in the second half, going on a 13-5 run. Jacob Cawood put the Buffs in a double-digit lead in the second half with a made field goal, then a made 3-pointer, with Bo Pless following that up with a 3-pointer of his own. Nathan Hastings helped extend the lead out to 19 with a made 3-pointer followed by a field goal.  

Bryan attempted to make a late half comeback with just under 10 minutes to go, going on an 18-6 run to cut the Milligan lead down to seven. The Buffs, however, would extend their lead back out to 10, only allowing Bryan to score five points in the last four minutes of play. 

Game leaders

Four Buffs found themselves in double-digit scoring with Cawood leading the way with 19 points followed by Pless with 17, Green with 14 and Mike Featherston with 11.  Tyler Nichols and Hastings barely missed the double-digit column, each finishing with nine points. Featherston also added a game high of eight rebounds with Green and Nichols behind him with seven apiece. 

Up next

"I am excited about the win tonight," Robinson adds. "The team played well and hopefully this can give us momentum going into senior night and the tournament next week." Milligan will finish out the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 22, against St. Andrews. Both the men's and women's teams will be celebrating their seniors in between the women's game and the men's game on Saturday. After Saturday, the Buffs will begin preparing for the Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament which will be held Feb. 26-29 at the MeadowView Conference Resort and Convention Center in Kingsport, Tenn.