No. 13 Seed Buffs Men's Basketball Falls Short in NAIA First Round Matchup at No. 4 Seed Cumberlands

WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. – The state of the No. 13-seeded Milligan University men's basketball season depended on Friday afternoon's NAIA Men's Basketball Championship First Round matchup with the No. 4-seeded University of the Cumberlands Patriots in Williamsburg, Ky. After an ideal start to the contest for the Buffaloes, the Patriots caught fire in the first half and never looked back, dealing MU an 85-71 loss to end their 2024-25 campaign.

Following the tilt's first 6:46, the Buffs held a 15-9 lead. From that point until the 5:43 mark, the script flipped, as UC built a 33-23 edge after a 24-8 run. The lead would hover between seven and 10 points for the rest of the half until a catastrophic five-point Patriots burst in the final 12 seconds resulted in a 14-point deficit at the break. Milligan shot the rock at 14-of-32 from the field, while connecting on three of the six tries from distance. Cumberlands had a hot shooting period, netting 20-of-36 field goals for a 55.6% conversion rate. They led 49-35 over the Buffs at the intermission.

Milligan pushed their way to an 11-point deficit at 52-41 after the first four minutes of the second but subsequently allowed the Patriots to extend their lead to 61-43 over the next 1:06 due to quick buckets by UC and empty offensive possessions. Milligan would trail by as many as 25 points over the last 15 minutes of the game. They cut the deficit to 13 points with 1:22 to go, but it was too little too late for the Buffaloes, as they fell 85-71. The offensive numbers for Milligan were no better in the second, as they went 13-of-33 from the field and struggled mightily at 2-of-15 from long range. Cumberlands struggled, as well, converting only 13-of-36 in the half. They did enough to hold on, though, as the Buffs' shooting woes resulted in a First Round exit.

Sam Gold was the most effective offensive piece for the Buffaloes throughout, as he knocked down 5-of-11 from the field, including a 3-of-5 day from distance. He scored 17 points to lead the squad. Handje Tamba also had a strong offensive showing, providing 16 points on an efficient 6-of-8 clip. McCaskill Rivers scored 14 points, albeit on a 5-of-17 afternoon from the floor.

Milligan had 11 assists in the contest, as Jayme Peay led the charge with three of them. Gold, Elijah Bredwood and Luke Lentz each dished out a pair, while Rivers and Finn McClure passed out one apiece.

Tamba notched a double-double with his 10-rebound performance, as he was a definite presence throughout the battle. Rivers added seven to the team total, while Gold provided five and Peay hauled in four. Lentz and Piripi Korent snatched three boards, while McClure, Bredwood and Lincoln Thomae split remaining three.

Overall, the team blocked shots at an impressive mark, as both Tamba and Peay rejected three attempts, while Gold supplied the other of the seven total team stuffs. McClure, Gold, Rivers and Lentz were responsible for the four steals that Milligan tallied in the loss.

The close of the 2024-25 season is bittersweet, as though the team lost in their NAIA Tournament First Round matchup, they returned to the NAIA Tournament for the first time since the 2017-18 season. In the process, they won their first ever Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament Championship. The squad will be back in 2025-26 with loftier aspirations at the national level, gunning for consecutive NAIA Tournament appearances for the first time in program history.