Thomae three-pointer delivers Men’s Basketball past Bluefield in AAC opener

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (November 8, 2023) – Lincoln Thomae drained a three with 1.4 seconds remaining to deliver the Milligan University men's basketball team to an 82-81 victory over Bluefield in the Buffs' Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) opener at the Steve Lacy Fieldhouse on Wednesday evening.

Milligan moves to 1-0 on the season and 1-0 in conference play while Bluefield falls to 0-1, 0-1 AAC.

The two teams traded the lead back and forth over the final three minutes of regulation. The Buffs led 77-74 with three minutes left. The Rams scored on back-to-back trips to take a 78-77 lead. After a Bluefield free throw, Follie Bogan tied the game at 79 with 29 seconds left.

Bluefield held the basketball for the last shot and after missing a layup with under five seconds to go, the Rams converted a putback with four seconds left to lead 81-79.

Two full timeouts, Milligan inbounded the ball to midcourt where it was tipped into the hands of Flynn Carlson. Carlson forwarded a pass to the right wing where Thomae sank his fist three-pointer of the evening with 1.4 seconds left. Carlson tipped the ensuing inbound attempt to run out the clock and seal the win.

The Rams used an early 10-2 run to lead 14-6 after four minutes of play. Luke Lentz and Sam Gold drained three-pointers to trim the margin to 17-16 and Bogan converted a driving layup to give the Buffs an 18-17 lead with 13 minutes left in the half.

The teams traded leads but a Gold layup and a McCaskill Rivers dunk in transition gave the Buffs an 25-22 lead, an edge they would maintain the rest of the half. Milligan's lead stretched to as many as nine points (39-30) after a five-point Milligan spurt late in the half. The Rams scored twice in the final minute of the half but a Rivers lay-in gave the Buffs a 43-38 halftime edge.

Milligan opened the second half with a 9-3 stint to lead by 11 (50-11) three minutes into the period but Bluefield worked the margin back to one possession (62-59) midway through the second half and the game remained competitive the rest of the way.

Bogan led the Buffs with 29 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. Rivers poured in 20 points.

Lentz and Gold each had nine points. Thomae finished with seven points, three rebounds and three assists.

Milligan shot 52.6 percent from the field and had 18 assists on 30 made baskets. The Buffs blocked nine shots and had 10 steals on the evening.

The Buffs travel to (RV) Pikeville on Saturday.