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Buffs set sights on AAC tournament

With the regular season coming to a close this past Saturday, the Milligan College basketball programs have turned their attention to preparing for the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament which runs Wednesday, Feb. 26, through Saturday, Feb. 29.

Buffs set sights on AAC tournament
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February 25, 2020

MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Feb. 25, 2020) – With the regular season coming to a close this past Saturday, the Milligan College basketball programs have turned their attention to preparing for the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament which runs Wednesday, Feb. 26, through Saturday, Feb. 29.

The women will play first in the opening round on Wednesday against Truett McConnell at 1 p.m. The Buffs defeated Truett 74-58 at Steve Lacy Fieldhouse in the only meeting of the season. The men will play Thursday at 5:15 p.m. against Kentucky Christian. Milligan and KCU split the season series with both teams winning by 19 or more points on their home court.

With a win Wednesday in the opening round, Milligan's women would play again Thursday at 12 p.m. against No.14-ranked Bryan. With a win over KCU, the men would play Friday at 4 p.m. in the semifinals. The championship games are scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. (men) and 3 p.m. (women).

Season recap for women

The women enter the conference tournament as the No. 8 seed. They finished the regular season with an overall record of 12-18 and an AAC record of 10-14.

The women are being led by senior Kaely Gose. Gose has been named AAC player of the week twice this season and leads the Buffs in points per game, rebounds, blocks and assists. Against Bryan on Feb. 19, Gose scored her 1000th collegiate point and is only eight points away from scoring 1000 points while at Milligan. This year she is averaging 14.8 points per game, 9.8 rebounds per game, 2.2 assists and 1.7 blocks. She has had 13 double-doubles this year and has made it to the double digit scoring column for the last 15 games.

Sophomore Halie Padgett has had a breakout season, averaging the second most points per game with 12.2, second most rebounds with 7.7 per game, second most blocks with 25 and leads the team in steals with 1.04 per game. She has had seven double-doubles this year. Behind Padgett in scoring is Emily Kiser, who is averaging 11.5 points per game, and Lily Griffith with 10.4 points per game.  

The Buffs rank in the top 25 in the NAIA in three defensive columns, sitting at No. 9 in defensive rebounds, No. 14 in total rebounds and No. 24 in total blocks. Milligan has made it to the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship three of the last four years.

Milligan's men in summary

For the second year in a row, the Milligan men's team will serve as the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. Milligan enters the tournament with an overall record of 18-11 and an AAC record of 15-9. There was a 3-way tie for the No. 3 seed. Milligan received the No. 3 seed since it went a combined 3-1 versus CIU and Allen. The Buffs will be looking to make their second trip to the NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship in the last three years.

Four Buffs have averaged double digit scoring during the regular season. Senior Jacob Cawood leads the pack with 15.6 points per game followed by Tyler Nichols (14.9), Bo Pless (11.6) and Desean Green (11.0). Green leads the team in rebounds (7.68), assists (5.04) and steals (1.71) per game. Mike Featherston has served as a defensive asset to the Buffs, leading the team with 1.59 blocks per game and 7.4 rebounds per game.

Green ranks No. 10 nationally in total assists with 141 and No. 13 in assists per game. Featherston ranks No. 19 nationally in blocks with 46 and No. 24 in blocks per game.

Tournament info

All tournament games will take place at the MeadowView Conference Resort and Convention Center in Kingsport. All games are scheduled to feature live stats and video. Tournament links for these games are available on the AAC website.