Milligan College, Tenn. (Feb. 6, 2010) --- The Milligan College Buffs lost their second straight AAC home game as they fell 69-54 to Bryan College on Saturday evening.

In the opening minutes, neither team could get into rhythm offensively as the game was tied at two points apiece four minutes into the contest. Bryan finally got their offense started as they went on a 6-0 run. Milligan responded as they closed the gap to 11-8 before the Lions went on another run.

However, that did not phase the Buffs as they closed the gap again to five points with 5:48 remaining in the half. Milligan continued to cut away at the gap before the half, but a Lion 3-pointer at the buzzer put the Buffs down 27-18 at the end of the first half.

Former Dobyns-Bennett star Justin Sylvester (Kingsport, Tenn.) led the way in the half with seven points, while Marshall Hardy (Kingsport, Tenn.), another former Indian, contributed four rebounds and three points.

As a team, the Buffs were 8-of-22 (36%) from the field 0-of-4 from the 3-point line while the Lions were 11-of-26 (42%) from the field and 2-of-7 (30%) from the 3-point line.

In the second half, Milligan was unable to cut the gap past nine points as they trailed 39-28 with 13 minutes left on the scoreboard. The Buffs kept fighting, but they were still unable to close the gap, but still kept in contact with the Lions. Milligan cut the gap to seven points, but was unable to get any closer as they fell 69-54.

Sylvester led the way with 19 points and six rebounds. Bryant Edwards (Tabor City, N.C.) had 10 points while Cordero Seymour (Inagua, Bahamas), Kyle Donahue (Greeneville, Tenn.) and Torian Sitton (Hendersonville, N.C.) all had six points.

As a team, Milligan was 21-of-50 (42%) from the field and 3-of-12 from behind the 3-point line. Bryan was 28-of-52 (54%) and 6-of-13 from behind the arc.

“It seemed like every time that we would make a run to get closer, there would be one play or one shot that just turned the momentum back to them,” Head Coach Bill Robinson said. “We could just never get on a good run. They are a good defensive team and a good rebounding team. When you have a team like that, you have to execute that much better.”

With the loss, the Buffs fall to 9-15 overall and 4-8 in AAC play, while the Lions improve to 15-8 and 8-4 in league action.

The Buffs return to action on Monday evening when they pay a visit to Maryville College. The first time Milligan and Maryville met was an instant classic as Seymour lifted the Buffs past the Scots on a last second shot. Tipoff is set for 7:30.