Men’s Bowling reaches elimination final at SSAC Championships

SAVANNAH, Ga. (February 25, 2023) – The Milligan University men's bowling team made a run to the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) elimination bracket final at the first-ever SSAC Championships on Friday and Saturday.

Milligan won a pair of games in the elimination bracket to reach the SSAC semifinal round before bowing out against SCAD Atlanta.

After 16 games of qualifying and accounting for regular season RPI, Milligan earned the second seed in the SSAC Championship bracket and earned a round one bye along with top-seeded SCAD Savannah. Tristan Crawford and Cameron Shockey anchored the Buffs as they used four consecutive baker games over 200 to secure one of two byes in the six-team field.

The Buffs squared off with SCAD Atlanta in round two. The Bees took a 4-1 victory (190-162, 195-123, 157-195, 203-185, 216-133) to send the Buffs to the elimination bracket.

On Saturday morning Milligan defeated Blue Mountain 4-1 in a closely contested matchup to extended their bracket run. The Buffs won the first game 173-170 before Blue Mountain evened the match at 1-1 with a 163-156 win. The Buffs reeled off three-straight wins (174-1551, 209-205, 192-139) to advance to the fourth round.

Milligan dispatched Stillman 4-1 (159-143, 183-158, 142-150, 141-124, 186-133) to advance to the elimination bracket final against SCAD Atlanta.

In the Buffs' rematch with the Bees, the Bees emerged victorious again. The Buffs took a 2-1 lead with scores of 245-173 and 228-210 but caught a bad break leaving a 7-10 split on a pocket hit in game five, allowing the Bees to even the series at two. SCAD went on to win games five and six to eliminate the Buffs.

"This was a great experience for our young team," said head coach Brian Rickert. "Last year we came into the tournament pulling off a humongous upset of SCAD-Savannah. We took that confidence into this season and just are continuing to try and build. We have made tremendous improvements this year and know what we need to do to become one of the elite teams in the country. It didn't go our way this year, but we will be better and stronger very soon!"

Milligan heads to its first-ever appearance at the United States Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Sectionals on Smyrna, Tenn. in two weeks.

Milligan Bracket Play Results

Round 1
BYE

Round 2
SCAD-Atlanta defeated Milligan 4-1
190-162, 195-123, 157-195, 203-185, 216-133

Round 3
Milligan defeated Blue Mountain 4-1
173-170, 156-163, 174-151, 209-205, 192-139

Round 4
Milligan defeated Stillman 4-1
159-143, 183-158, 142-150, 141-124, 186-133

Round 5
SCAD Atlanta def. Milligan 4-2
245-165, 173-245, 210-228, 259-144, 167-156, 190-163