Buffs drop hard fought matchup at Truett McConnell 80-76

CLEVELAND, GA. (November 13, 2021) – The Milligan University men's basketball team was defeated 80-76 in a hard fought matchup with Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) opponent Truett McConnell University on Saturday evening.

Milligan drops to an overall record of 0-5 (0-4 AAC) while Truett McConnell climbs to 4-1 (2-1 AAC) on the season.

In the early going, the game was tied at two, four, six, and eight before Truett McConnell reeled off a 6-0 run to give the hosts a 14-8 lead just over five minutes into the contest. Subsequently, Milligan went on an 11-4 run to retake the lead 19-18 and held a 22-21 advantage midway through the half. After the Milligan run, the Bears answered with a 12-2 run of their own and led by as many as nine points (31-20) with seven minutes to play in the first half. Milligan clawed back within three (32-29) late in the period and TMU carried a 34-29 lead into the break.

Levontae Knox led the Buffs in scoring in the first half with eight points going four-for-four from the field. Piripi Korent finished just behind Knox with seven points while going three-for-five from the field and one-for-two behind the arc. Milligan shot 58 percent from the floor in the first half with seven different Buffs getting into the scoring column.

Milligan cut the Truett McConnell lead down to one twice in the second half but could not manage to take the lead over the Bears. After the Buffs went down by ten with just over five minutes to play, they worked their way back within striking distance (71-66 ) with three minutes to go thanks to seven points in under two minutes from Trevor Hensley.

Milligan capped off the game scoring ten of the final 16 points but could not squeak out the win due to good free throw shooting down the stretch from Truett McConnell.

Hensley led the Buffalo scoring attack on Saturday afternoon racking up a season-high 21 points on seven-of-eleven shooting and five-for-five from the free throw line. Knox added 17 points for Milligan going eight-of-ten from the field.

The Buffs outshot the Bears 56 percent to 44 percent from the floor but could not overcome 23 turnovers as they finished with 23 on the day.

The Buffs will hit the floor again Monday night matching up against NCAA Division I Marshall University at 7 p.m.