Two 30-point games lead Buffs in thrilling AAC win

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (Nov. 7, 2020) – David Tripp scored 33 points while Tyler Faulkenberry scored 30, and the Milligan University men's basketball team earned a hard-fought, double-overtime win, 102-100, over visiting Point Saturday at Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.

Thrilling from start to finish, the game featured 10 ties, 10 lead changes and several big baskets and defensive stops along the way.

"This was a great win tonight for the Buffs," Head Coach Bill Robinson said postgame. "David Tripp and Tyler Faulkenberry were fantastic, and Finn McClure played great in his first game in the fieldhouse. I'm very excited for our team and hopefully this will give us some momentum going into next week."

Key plays

Two of the most notable defensive plays came from Levontae Knox and Tripp who blocked a pair of shots on separate possessions in the final 20 seconds of the second overtime. Knox blocked a would-be go-ahead basket on a breakaway layup with just under 20 seconds left before Tripp rejected another would-be go-ahead basket inside 10 seconds to go. Milligan led 101-100 at the time of both defensive plays.

Faulkenberry provided much of the offensive spark with a few made 3-pointers. He hit two in the last four minutes of regulation, the second of which tied the game at 79-79 with under a minute left, then he hit another with 2:30 left in the first overtime period, which gave Milligan the lead, 89-87.

Freshman Finn McClure scored Milligan's last field goal to put the Buffs over the century mark with just over two minutes left in the game. It made it 101-95, but Point answered with a 5-0 run to make it 101-100 and even had a few possessions with a chance to take the lead. Josh Thomas came up with the final key defensive play on a rebound with 2.1 seconds left, all but sealing the win for Milligan.

Facts and figures

Tripp's 33 points, a career high, came alongside eight rebounds, five assists and five blocked shots. He shot 13-for-22 from the field. Faulkenberry's 30 points, also a career high, came alongside eight rebounds. Faulkenberry went 11-for-19 from the field and 7-of-13 from three.

McClure registered the game's only double-double with 16 points and 10 assists. Four other Buffs entered the scoring column, including Thomas who scored eight points.

As a team, Milligan shot 50 percent (37-74) from the field and 46.7 percent (14-30) from three.

Corey Bowen led the Skyhawks with 27 points on 11-for-14 shooting and seven rebounds.

The win moved Milligan to 1-1 overall and 1-0 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference this season. The Buffaloes also handed Point its first loss as the Skyhawks fell to 4-1 (1-1 AAC).

Up next

Milligan welcomes Johnson University to Steve Lacy Fieldhouse on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7:30 p.m. The game can be followed online at milliganbuffs.com.

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