Buffs slump in second half against Bryan
Despite a big first half that saw the Milligan University men’s basketball team halfway to the century mark at the break, visiting Bryan snapped the Buffaloes’ two-game winning streak with an 88-83 decision Tuesday evening in Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bryan
5-1, 2-0 AAC
|
47 | 41 | 88 |
|
Milligan
3-3, 3-2 AAC
|
50 | 33 | 83 |
Team Stats
Bryan
| Game Statistics | Bryan | Milligan |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (34-66) | (33-73) |
| Field Goal % | 51.5% | 45.2% |
| Rebounds | 41 | 35 |
| Assists | 18 | 17 |
| Turnovers | 14 | 9 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 3 | 10 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 5 | 4 |
| Pts in the Paint | 26 | 30 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 12 | 13 |
| Bench Pts | 16 | 18 |
MILLIGAN, Tenn. (Dec. 8, 2020) – Despite a big first half that saw the Milligan University men's basketball team halfway to the century mark at the break, visiting Bryan snapped the Buffaloes' two-game winning streak with an 88-83 decision Tuesday evening in Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.
David Tripp led a group of five Buffaloes in double figures, scoring 17. Josh Thomas tallied his third double-double with 16 points and a career high-tying 10 rebounds.
Second-half run dooms Buffs
Milligan (3-3, 3-2 AAC) closed the first half on a 13-6 run over the last four minutes to go into the break ahead by three, 50-47, but Bryan came out of the gates hot in the second half. The Lions used a 5-for-6 effort from behind the arc in the second half to surge into the lead and eventually go on a 12-2 run that pushed them ahead for good.
Milligan trimmed the lead to within six on several occasions and even had it a three-point game with two minutes to go but failed to score on its last five possessions. Following a Tyler Faulkenberry made 3-pointer to make it 86-83 with 2:15 left, the Buffaloes went scoreless the rest of the way.
The Milligan defense came up big late in the game to keep the Lions scoreless as well, but finally a pair of made free throws with under five seconds to go helped Bryan close the win.
In the box score
Tripp's 17 points marked the sixth time in six games this season he reached double figures, with 17 or more in all of them. Thomas and Faulkenberry followed with 16, and Jackson Gabriel and Matt Cole scored 11 and 10, respectively.
Trevor Hensley scored five points while also registering a career high-tying six assists. Faulkenberry had three assists and three steals while Tripp also had three assists and four blocks.
For Bryan, Noah Mulaski led all scorers with 10 points on 6-for-12 shooting. He went 5-of-9 from the perimeter to lead Bryan to a team effort of 14-for-21 from three.
Up next
Milligan welcomes Reinhardt back here to Steve Lacy Fieldhouse on Thursday, Dec. 10, for a 5 p.m. game. The Buffs will then finish the 2020 portion of their 2020-21 season with a trip to Montreat on Saturday.