Buffs drop road matchup with Point

WEST POINT, GA. (February 16, 2022) – The Milligan University men's basketball team lost a visiting matchup with Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) opponent Point University 82-61 Wednesday evening. The Buffs have one more game left for the 2022 regular season on Saturday at Johnson (Tenn.)

Milligan moves to 6-20 (5-18 AAC) on the year while Point climbs to 15-14 (11-12 AAC) with one game remaining until the AAC conference tournament.

The Buffs took a six-point lead (16-10), their largest of the game, with 13 minutes to play in the first half after a jumper from Finn McClure. Over the next nine minutes of play, the Skyhawks reeled off a 17-5 run to take a six point lead (27-21). The Buffs closed the first half scoring ten of the final 16 points to trim the deficit to two points at halftime (33-31). Neither team recorded a basket in the final minute of the first half.

Milligan shot 52 percent from the field on 14 made shots; including three three-pointers. McClure led the Buffs in scoring through the first 20 minutes with nine points on four-of-six from the field and knocked down one of his two three-point attempts. Adam Graham added seven points on three-of-five from the field and also made one of his two three-point attempts. Milligan was plus-two on the glass in the first half recording 13 rebounds compared to 11 for Point.

The Skyhawks came out of the half on a roll offensively scoring ten of the first 12 points increasing their lead to double-digits (43-33). Point was able to keep that double-digit lead for the rest of the game, as the Buffs only got as close as 11 points (63-52) with just over six minutes to play in regulation. The Skyhawks were able to increase their lead to 21 (82-61) by the end of the ballgame as they closed on a 19-9 run to send Milligan home with a tough loss.

Sami Sanad led the Buffs in points and rebounds scoring 14 points to go along with ten boards. McClure finished just behind Sanad with 12 points on five-of-ten shooting from the field and also pulled down four rebounds. For the game, Milligan shot 40 percent from the field on 23 made baskets. After outrebounding the Skyhawks by two in the first half, Point flipped the script with a plus-nine advantage on the glass in the second half finishing with 37 boards compared to 30 for the Buffs.

Milligan will close out regular season play on Saturday with a visiting matchup at Johnson (Tenn.) at 4:00 p.m.