Milligan Men's Basketball Finds Shooting Groove, Beats TMU on Home Floor

MILLIGAN, Tenn. - The Milligan men's basketball team earned their first triumph of 2024-25 in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play after an impressive offensive performance in their conquest of the Truett-McConnell Bears on Saturday evening, 93-83. 

The first half was a half full of high efficiency from both offenses. Milligan was able to jump out to a 20-point lead before the Bears would battle back to cut the lead to twelve headed into the half at 46-34. The Buffs would shoot 50% from the field and 66.7% from three on an 8-of-12 shooting clip. Elijah Bredwood was the spark for the Buffaloes off the bench with fourteen first-half points. Luke Lentz also provided a six-point outburst in seven minutes of action. 

The second half was similar to the first, with both teams able to score at impressive clips. Gaining control of the game midway through the second half, the Buffaloes stretched their lead to 17 at one point, before the stingy TMU Bears would battle back to slash the lead down to single digits with less than six minutes to play. Jayme Peay stood out in the second half, both on offense and defense, with some key blocks to keep the Bears at a comfortable distance. In the end, Milligan was able to close the game out and take the 93-83 victory to move to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in AAC competition. 

Bredwood led the way for the Buffs with 22 points on 9-of-14 from the field, while McCaskill Rivers scored 18 in the win. Peay had 13 points in just 15 minutes of action, and Sam Gold added 11 as the final double-digit scorer for Milligan on a 4-of-7 day from the field. The team ended up shooting 12-of-19 from long range to help their cause.

Finn McClure led the way as a table setter with six assists in the game, while Rivers added four and Bredwood provided three.

It was a strong rebounding performance all around, as Bredwood was atop the list with seven boards. Handje Tamba had six, while Peay added five, and Lincoln Thomae and McClure put up four each.'

Bredwood nabbed three steals and a trio of Buffs grabbed two, apiece, including Thomae, McClure and Rivers. The team had five blocks in the win, with Peay accounting for three of them and the other two coming from Rivers and Tamba.

Milligan, now 5-2, will play host to Columbia on Wednesday, Nov. 20 for another AAC bout inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.