Men’s Basketball deals Tennessee Wesleyan its first loss

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (November 22, 2022) – The Milligan University men's basketball team dealt Tennessee Wesleyan its first defeat of the season as the Buffs triumphed 76-70 on Tuesday evening at the Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.

Milligan picks up its second win of the season and moves to 2-3 in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play. Tennessee Wesleyan entered with a 6-0 record with a 5-0 AAC mark before taking its first loss of the year. The Bulldogs entered the contest as the top shooting team in the AAC and owned the No. 2 scoring offense in the conference at 83 points per game.

Milligan limited the Bulldogs' high-octane attack to 24 points on 28.1 percent shooting in the first half. Milligan opened the game with 10-2 run and never trailed at any point. The Buffs scored seven-straight points in less than a minute of game time to double their lead from seven points to 14 (28-14) with just under five minutes to play in the first half. Milligan scored on four-straight possessions late in the half to lead by 18 (38-20) with under two to go in the period and carried a 40-24 lead into the break.

TWU battled back to single-digits around the nine-minute mark of the second half at 57-49. The Bulldogs closed the margin to 6-560 with six minutes to play before Sam Gold drilled a corner three. After a TWU basket, Finn McClure knocked down a triple of his own to lead 71-62 with four minutes to play.

A few missed free throws down the stretch kept TWU within striking distance at 72-67 with two minutes left but a three-ball by Dylan Bartley with 1:23 to play slammed the door shut as the Buffs went on to secure a six-point victory.

McClure finished with 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and four made three-pointers. Gold went for 15 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. Sami Sanad scored 14 points on seven shots with four rebounds and three steals. Levontae Knox had 10 points and eight boards. Flynn Carlson recorded five points, five assists and three blocks.

Milligan shot 50 percent from the field and made seven threes on the night.

The Buffs travel to Truett McConnell next Wednesday.