Milligan College, Tenn. (Dec. 4, 2010) --- The Milligan College men's basketball team picked up a 104-77 nonconference victory over Southern Wesleyan University on Saturday afternoon inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.

The Buffs took advantage of an early 9-0 run as they jumped out to a 13-4 lead in the first five minutes of the game. The Warriors closed the gap to five pointsbefore the midway point of the first half, but a Tim Harper (Catawba, N.C.) jump shot put Milligan up by 12 with 9:51 remaining in the half. A late 10-0 run gave the Buffs a 53-33 lead at halftime.

The opening of the second half saw SWU try to trim into the Milligan lead, but the Buffs answered with shots from Kyle Grisby (Charlotte, N.C.) and former Dobyns-Bennett standout Justin Sylvester (Kingsport, Tenn.) to maintain their 20 point advantage. Milligan slowly added to their lead over the course of the half to secure the victory.

Harper led the Buffs with 21 points, while Grisby added 18 points. Tyler DeVault (Kingsport, Tenn.) scored 17 points, while Hudson Fricke (Greeneville, S.C.) and Bryant Edwards (Tabor City, N.C.) had 14 and 13 points, respectively. Sylvester had 12 points and eight rebounds.

As a team, the Buffs were 36-of-62 (58%) from the floor and 8-of-21 (38%) from behind the arc, while the Warriors were 30-of-60 (50%) from the floor and 5-of-15 (33%) from behind the 3-point line. Milligan was 24-of-32 (75%) from the free throw line.

With the win, Milligan improves to 3-6 overall on the year.

The Buffs return to action on Saturday, Dec. 11, when they travel to Charleston, S.C., for an exhibition matchup with NCAA Division I Charleston Southern. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m.