Buffs bouce back with big win over CIU

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (January 20, 2022) –  The Milligan University men's basketball team outscored Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) opponent CIU 43-26 in the second half on its way to a 92-73 victory on Thursday evening at the Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.  

Milligan adds on to their win total for the season now sitting at 3-13 (2-11 AAC). CIU falls to 11-7 (7-6 AAC).  

Four different Milligan players scored as the Buffs built an 8-3 lead in the game's first two minutes. CIU responded with the next seven points to take a 10-8 advantage. Three-point plays by Piripi Korent and Trevor Hensley and consecutive layups by Levontae Knox built a 23-14 Milligan lead with 11:49 to play in the half.   

CIU rallied back to tie the game at 28 with just under nine minutes to go in the half, but Hensley responded with a three. The Rams drew even at 37 with five minutes to play in the period, but Finn McClure drained a timely three and converted a layup the next trip down the floor.     

Adam Graham put back a missed free throw to bring Milligan's lead to six (45-39) with three minutes to play. CIU kept the Buffs from building their lead as the Rams scored six of the final eight points of the half as Milligan carried a 49-47 lead into the half.  

A layup in traffic and turnaround jumper by Sami Sanad were followed by a left wing three by Hensley, a nifty finish by Knox and a Sanad basket through contact as the Buffs used a 11-2 run to take a 62-52 lead just over five minutes into the second half.   

A Hensley three grew Milligan's lead to 14 (66-52) with 13:51 to play in the second half. A steal by Hensley led to a two-handed transition dunk by Korent to keep the Buffs ahead 70-58 with 10:44 to play.  

An 8-2 CIU spurt brought the visitors back within five (71-66) with 9:26 to play, but Graham responded with a three-pointer from the right wing from Knox. Immediately out of a timeout, a Hensley steal led to a Knox layup and Hensley converted his own lay-in the next trip down the floor to grow Milligan's lead back to 12 (78-66).   

A left-wing triple by Josh Thomas was followed by another Hensley bucket in transition as the Buffs' advantage increased to 85-70 with five minutes left.   

Milligan increased its lead to 20 (90-70) with just over two minutes remaining after multiple defensive stops in a row essentially put the game away for the Buffs. 

Led by a team-high 23 points from Hensley, four Milligan players finished with double digit point totals including 17 from Knox on eight-of-12 shooting.  

As a team, the Buffs shot 56 percent from the floor compared to 42 percent from CIU. Milligan also protected the ball extremely well on the night finishing with a season-low eight turnovers.   

Milligan hosts Truett McConnell on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.