Men’s Basketball edged at Bryan 73-69

DAYTON, Tenn. (December 10, 2022) – The Milligan University men's basketball team lost a competitive 73-69 contest at Bryan on Saturday afternoon.

The Buffs played another well-contested Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) game that was decided in the final minutes. Milligan led by as many as 13 points in the first half, trailed by 10 with nine minutes to play and were tied with Bryan with under five to go in regulation before the Lions pulled out the four-point win.

Milligan falls to 4-5 and 4-4 in AAC action. Bryan rises to 6-6, 6-3 AAC.

After 10 minutes of action, Milligan led by two points (15-13). The Buffs went on a 15-2 run to build a 30-17 edge with 3:27 left in the first half and led by 11 (35-24) at the halftime break.

Bryan scored 10 of the first 12 points of the second half to quickly narrow the margin to 37-34. The hosts brought the score even at 41 with 14 minutes left. After trading buckets, a 12-0 Bryan run gave the Loins a 56-46 lead with nine minutes to play in regulation.

Milligan tied the game at 62 inside of six minutes to go after threes by Dylan Bartley and Sami Sanad, a three-point play by Bartley and another basket by Sanad. Matthew Roberts gave the Buffs a 64-62 lead with five minutes to play. Bryan scored the next seven points to lead 69-64 with just over two minutes to play. Bartley canned his fifth three of the night and added another layup to keep the Buffs within a single possession at 71-69 with under two minutes to go.

After a lengthy possession for Bryan in the final minute that was extended with an offensive rebound, the Buffs gained possession after a three-point attempt went out of play. Taking over with under 15 seconds left down two, Milligan was unable to get a shot off as a bounce pass intended for a backdoor cut was intercepted. Bryan connected on two free throws on the other end to secure the 73-69 victory.

Bartley scored a career high 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field and five-of-nine shooting from deep. Sanad had 13 points and five rebounds. Flynn Carlson and Roberts had seven points each. Drew Greene added seven assists and five rebounds.

The Buffs won the rebounding battle 35-26 and outscored Bryan 42-28 in the paint.

Milligan hosts Montreat Tuesday night at the Steve Lacy Fieldhouse at 7:30 p.m.