Gabriel, Tripp 21-point efforts push Buffs past Knights

LAURINBURG, N.C. (Jan. 5, 2021) – Jackson Gabriel scored a career-high 21 points, and the Milligan University men's basketball team opened 2021 with a 95-87 victory over St. Andrews Tuesday afternoon on the road. David Tripp matched Gabriel with 21 points as the Buffs' two leading scorers.

Milligan's victory marked the Buffs' seventh straight win over St. Andrews and 16th in the last 18 meetings.

"This was a solid win on the road for the Buffs today," said Head Coach Bill Robinson. "It was a true team effort as leading scorer David Tripp was in foul trouble all game and starter Josh Thomas was out with an injury. Jackson Gabriel played great and Tyler Faulkenberry got hot in the second half. Down eight points, the team pulled together and played excellent basketball the last 10 minutes. Free throws were huge as we only missed two all night. Good start to the New Year."

Buffs use late run to pull away

Milligan (5-4, 5-3 Appalachian Athletic Conference) trailed 63-56 midway through the second half before a 17-3 run pushed the Buffs into the lead for good. Four Buffs scored points during that stretch, including Tyler Faulkenberry who scored the last six points of the run on back-to-back 3-pointers, the latter with just over six minutes to go.

It was far from over, however, as St. Andrews rallied to trim the deficit to one, 73-72, with under five minutes left. Faulkenberry answered again with a big three, and the Knights were never again closer than four.

St. Andrews took its last gasp with a made 3-pointer from the corner that cut Milligan's lead to five, 86-81, and the Knights followed with a steal on the ensuing possession with a chance to make it a one-possession game. Milligan answered with a steal only seconds later, resulting in a breakaway layup from Finn McClure that pushed Milligan's lead to 88-81. The Buffs then made 7-of-8 free throws inside of one minute to help seal the victory.

In the box score

Gabriel's 21 points came from 5-for-8 shooting, all of which he took from behind the arc. He also added three rebounds, three assists and three steals, as well as a 6-for-6 effort from the free throw line, including four that he made in the last 51 seconds of the game.

Tripp's 21 points came from 8-of-9 shooting, his only miss from three, while adding a 5-for-5 effort from the free throw line as well as four rebounds and four steals.

McClure and Faulkenberry followed next in Milligan's scoring column with 12 and 11, respectively. McClure registered a game-high seven assists next to only one turnover. Trevor Hensley scored nine, and Jeffrey Selden scored eight alongside career highs of nine rebounds and three assists.

For St. Andrews (1-5, 0-5 AAC), four players scored double figures, led by Myron Williams with 26 points.

Up next

Milligan plays at home on Saturday when the Buffs host CIU at 4 p.m. in Steve Lacy Fieldhouse. Home games this season can be followed online through milliganbuffs.com.