Turnovers Haunt Buffs Men's Basketball in Road Loss at (RV) CIU

MILLIGAN, Tenn. – After coming off a major national upset win on Wednesday, Milligan University's men's basketball squad matched up with another top-tier opponent, the (RV) Columbia International University Rams, on Saturday afternoon. Giveaways plagued MU, as they coughed up the orange on 19 occasions en route to a 70-64 loss. 

Facing off with the squad that currently leads the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC), Milligan played a strong first half on defense to keep the bout tight. For CIU, it was a 15-of-38 period from the field, where they made only four of their 13 three-point tries. Milligan shot 13-of-28 from the field and hit 2-of-7 from range. The major difference in the opening half was MU's nine turnovers in comparison with CIU's five. Milligan raced out to a 16-8 lead with 12:11 to play, but the Rams battled their way back and took a 27-25 lead with 5:30 to go. From that point, the sides played evenly and headed to the intermission with a 34-33 Buffaloes deficit. 

The second half began at a snail's pace, as Milligan scored the first five points of the period, and CIU did not score for the first 4:28 of play in the period. From then on, though, the Rams forced a total of 10 second-half turnovers by the Buffaloes. Those proved to be the difference, yet again, with Columbia International turning it over just three times. CIU led by as many as 12 at 67-55 with 2:23 left, and ended up holding that lead until the buzzer, winning 70-64. Neither side shot the ball with any efficiency, as the Buffaloes only converted 11 of their 31 shots in the period, while making just 4-of-15 from beyond the arc and 5-of-9 at the charity stripe. Likewise, CIU limped to a 12-of-33 clip, while going 4-of-9 from deep and 8-of-11 from the free-throw line. 

McCaskill Rivers' 16 points led the team, but his 6-of-18 clip was an indicator of the attrition that the Buffaloes faced on the offensive end. Jayme Peay (4-of-10) and Elijah Bredwood (5-of-10) each scored 13 points, with Bredwood doing so off the bench. Finn McClure rounded out the group with more than 10 points, scoring 11 on a 4-of-6 evening, including two three-point jumpers. 

The Buffs had just 11 assists in the loss, with McClure and Sam Gold being responsible for three each. Handje Tamba had two and the trio of Rivers, Bredwood and Piripi Korent had one apiece. 

Tamba led the side in rebounding, notching 13 of them, with 10 on the defensive end. Peay provided nine backboards, while Gold added six; and the two point guards, McClure and Bredwood, brought in five each. Rivers and Korent had the two remaining boards. 

Milligan tallied three steals and four blocks, with Peay leading the way by rejecting three shots. Tamba had the other swat, while McClure, Gold and Bredwood notched the three thefts. 

The Buffs now will look ahead to Monday, Jan. 20, when they go to Bluefield, Va. to face the Rams of Bluefield University at 7 p.m. They will be in search of their fifth win in their last six AAC contests.