Lookout Mountain, Ga. (Feb. 3, 2010) --- The Milligan College Buffs have had comeback attempts fall short this season, but that was not the case Wednesday night. The Buffs hung on to their lead in the final half as they went on to defeat Covenant College 80-59 inside the Barnes Center.

The Buffs got off to a slow start as Covenant opened the contest on a 11-2 run in the first four minutes. However, Milligan responded as they embarked on a 10-2 run to pull themselves within one point of the Scots. The Buffs tied the game at 17 when Tyler DeVault (Kingsport, Tenn.) found Kyle Donahue (Greeneville, Tenn.) for a 3-pointer with 12:02 remaining in the half.

From that point on, both teams traded possessions as neither could pull more than one possession away. Milligan broke the trend in the final six minutes of the half as they outpaced the Scots 14-7 to take a 39-32 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Donahue had 14 points in the half, while Justin Sylvester (Kingsport, Tenn.) had four points, six rebounds and five assists. As a team, Milligan shot 15-of-31 (48%) from the field and 4-of-4 (100%) from the 3-point line, while Covenant shot 13-of-35 (37%) and 2-of-4 (50%) from the field.

In the opening minutes of the second half, Milligan picked up where they left off as they went on a 7-0 run. The Buffs extended their lead to 57-40 as they outscored the Scots 18-8 in the first seven minutes of the second half. Milligan continued to cruise for the rest of the half as they led by as many as 23 points in the closing stages of the game.

Donahue led the way offensively with 17 points and four rebounds. Cordero Seymour (Inagua, Bahamas) had 15 points on the night, while Torian Sitton (Hendersonville, N.C.) added 14 points to the Buff cause. Sylvester ended the game with 10 assists, nine points and nine rebounds. Marshall Hardy (Kingsport, Tenn.) and DeVault both pitched in nine points.

For the game, the Buffs shot 33-of-61 (54%) from the field and 5-of-6 (83%) from the 3-point line while Covenant was 21-of-68 (31%) from the field and 2-of-7 (29%) from behind the arc. Milligan had 22 assists as a team, and got 31 points scored from the bench. In all, 10 Buffs put points on the board.

With the win, Milligan improves to 9-14 overall and remain at 4-7 AAC. The Scots fell to 3-15 on the season.

The Buffs return to Steve Lacy Fieldhouse as they host AAC foe Bryan (Tenn.) College on Saturday as Milligan tries to get revenge after an earlier season loss to the Lions. Tipoff is set for 4:00 p.m.