Men's Basketball earns 82-67 road victory over Montreat

Montreat, N.C. (January 28, 2023) – Milligan University men's basketball weathered a three-point barrage and grabbed its most impressive road victory of the season as the Buffs toppled Montreat on Saturday, 82-67.

The Buffs improve to 8-13 this season and 8-10 in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play. The Cavaliers drop to 12-8 overall and 10-7 in AAC action. Milligan's win, combined with losses by Bluefield and Truett McConnell on Saturday, have the Buffs in sole possession of eighth place in the AAC after opening the day in a three-way tie with the Rams and Bears.

Sami Sanad opened the scoring for both teams with a long range jumper. The game then turned into a shootout as six of the next eight baskets scored were three pointers. This resulted in a 15-10 lead for Montreat after five minutes of play.

Finn McClure drained a deep three with just under eight minutes remaining in the half to take a 23-20 lead, giving Milligan its second lead of the game. The Buffs utilized this to walk into the locker room with a 39-37 lead.

At the half, both teams were shooting a combined 42 percent from beyond the arc, contributing to 59 percent of the total points scored. Only 12 points came from inside the paint through the first 20 minutes.

Milligan gained a 46-37 margin, just two minutes into the second half. This came by way of a 7-0 run from a pair of made free throws by Julian Wilson and a pair of baskets by Dylan Bartley. This lead was extended to 57-49 over the next five minutes.

The Buffs defense stood tall as they held the Cavaliers scoreless for a four and a half minute stretch. During this period the lead was extended to 67-55 thanks to a 7-0 Milligan spurt. The Cavaliers fought hard with less than five minutes to play, but were unable to cut the deficit to less than eight as Milligan walked away with an 82-67 win.

Milligan outshot Montreat 45 percent to 30 percent, and outrebounded the Cavaliers 43-37. Three Buffs reached double-figures in the game. Bartley led the way with 17 points, McClure tallied 15 and Sam Gold put up 14.

The Buffs converted 34-of-41 free throws on the day, a single-game season high for made foul shots. Montreat drained nine-of-21 there-pointers (42.9 percent) in the first half but were limited to just two-of-15 three-point makes (13.3 percent) in the second half.

Milligan remains on the road to start the month of February as they head to Columbia, South Carolina to take on Columbia International University next Saturday. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. and will follow the women's matchup.