Buffs fall at Bryan to close out January

DAYTON, Tenn. (January 29, 2022) – The Milligan University men's basketball team lost a visiting matchup with Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) opponent Bryan College 91-81 Saturday evening. This marks the final game in the month of January for the Buffs as they prepare to make a late season run in February.  

Milligan moves to 4-15 (3-13 AAC) on the year while Bryan climbs to 14-7 (11-6 AAC) heading into the final month of regular season play.  

Two three-point field goals and a layup gave Bryan a quick 8-0 lead to open the game. The Buffs swiftly answered with a 10-3 run behind two three-pointers and a layup from Trevor Hensley in addition to a layup from Levontae Knox that trimmed the lead to one (11-10). Milligan took its first lead of the game (22-20) with just under nine minutes to play after Hensley knocked down his third three of the ball game. After falling behind by seven at the two minute mark, Adam Graham scored five straight points to cut the lead to two (41-39) with one minute remaining in the first half. A late three-point shot by the Lions increased Bryan's lead to five (44-39) heading into the break.  

Both teams shot the ball exceptionally well over the first 20 minutes. Milligan made six-of-13 (46 percent) from behind the arc while Bryan converted seven-of-thirteen (53 percent). From the field, the Buffs shot 51 percent on 15-of-29 compared to 50 percent on 15-of-30 from the Lions. The rebounding advantage went in favor of the Buffs (16-12) but the turnover battle was won by Bryan (9-3).  

Over the first two and a half minutes of the second half, Milligan reeled off an 8-2 run to give themselves a one-point advantage (47-46). Back-to-back three-pointers from Hensley and Knox extended the Buffs lead to five (53-48) forcing Bryan to call a timeout at the 15-minute mark. The Lions then scored nine of the next 11 points to retake the lead (57-55). From that point, Milligan was unable to retake the lead again for the rest of the game. Bryan led by as many as 13 late in the game but the Buffs were able to trim that deficit to ten (91-81) by the end of the second half thanks to a Hensley three and a layup from Sami Sanad.  

Hensley led all scorers with 25 points on eight-of-12 shooting from the field and five-of-eight from three-point range. Sanad also had a productive day scoring 14 points on six-of-11 from the field to go along with seven rebounds. Knox totaled 11 points on five-of-seven from the field in addition to a team-high eight rebounds and four assists.  

The Buffs shot 54 percent on 31-of-57 from the floor and 45 percent from three on ten-of-22 shooting. Both teams finished with a team total of 33 rebounds but a key factor in the game was the plus-seven turnover margin (18-11) for Bryan which propelled them to victory. Milligan outscored the Lions 34-28 in paint points and 19-11 in bench points.   

The Buffs will return to action Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. with an AAC road matchup at Kentucky Christian.