Second half rally sinks Men’s Basketball at Cumberlands in season opener

WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. (October 27, 2022) – The Milligan University men's basketball team hung with the University of the Cumberlands for 25 minutes before a second rally delivered the Patriots to a 84-69 win on Thursday evening.

Cumberlands (1-0) opened an early 11-6 advantage through five minutes of action before the Buffs (0-1) responded with three-pointers by Dylan Bartley and Julian Wilson brought the margin to a single point (13-12).

After the Patriots increased their advantage to 18-12 with 11 minutes left in the half the Buffs responded with a 16-4 spurt that included threes by Finn McClure and Lincoln Thomae. Milligan enjoyed its largest lead of six (28-22) with five minutes to play in the half.

After Cumberlands tied the game at 28, Bartley scored the final five points of the half for Milligan as the Buffs carried a 33-32 lead into halftime.

An early Patriots three helped Cumberlands control the opening minutes of the second half and built a 44-39 edge with 15:30 left in regulation. Levontae Knox scored on back-to-back trips and Wilson's three gave Milligan a 46-44 edge.

Cumberlands took control of the game with an 17-2 rally that included five three-pointers in just over three minutes of gametime. The spurt pushed the hosts' lead to 63-50 at the midway point of the second half.

Chase Love and Eli Walls knocked down late threes as 10 different players scored for Milligan in the opener. The Patriots maintained their edge and held on to win 84-69.

Newcomers Sam Gold and Bartley led Milligan with 12 points apiece. McClure had 10 points and four assists. Wilson had nine points and five rebounds off the bench.

Knox had eight points and a team high nine rebounds. Flyn Carlson chipped in eight points. Drew Greene had six assists and four rebounds in his Milligan debut.

The Buffs shot 49.1 percent from the field while Cumberlands went 45.2 percent from the floor. The Buffs made eight threes at 40 percent while the Patriots made seven triples at 31.8 percent. The difference came at the free throw line where Cumberlands was 21-of-27 and Milligan shot 7-of-10.

Milligan owned a 34-28 rebounding edge but Cumberlands on the turnover battle 20-5 and scored 29 points off turnovers. The game featured seven ties and nine lead changes.

Milligan heads to UNC Asheville next Tuesday for an exhibition at 6:30 p.m.