Milligan College, Tenn. (Jan. 5, 2011) --- The Milligan College men's basketball team took a last second 84-80 victory over Tennessee Wesleyan in their Appalachian Athletic Conference opener on Wednesday evening inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.

The opening of the game saw neither team able to pull away from the other. The game was tied at 20 at the midpoint of the half. Milligan took a 26-24 lead with seven minutes remaining off of a Justin Sylvester (Kingsport, Tenn.) basket. The Bulldogs fought back to retake the lead later in the period, but the Buffs pulled way with a 9-3 run to take a 44-38 lead into halftime.

The second half saw Milligan quickly work to a 10-point lead. However, the Bulldogs slowly chipped away at the margin as they cut the Milligan lead to 74-73 with four minutes remaining. The Buffs quickly added to their lead with a basket from Sylvester and a pair of free throws from Marshall Hardy (Kingsport, Tenn.).

Tennessee Wesleyan tied the game in the closing seconds, but Milligan would not be denied as Sylvester took back the lead with a two-point basket with eight seconds remaining. Hudson Fricke (Greeneville, S.C.) secured the win with a pair of free throws in the game's final second.

Hardy led the Buffs with 18 points and eight rebounds. Sylvester had 17 points, while Tyler DeVault (Kingsport, Tenn.) added 15 points. Freshman Kyle Grisby (Charlotte, N.C.) and Tim Harper (Catawba, N.C.) had 14 points and 11 points, respectively.

As a team, the Buffs were 32-of-54 (59%) from the floor and 4-of-8 (50%) from behind the 3-point line. Tennessee Wesleyan was 31-of-46 (67%) from the field and 7-of-13 (54%) from behind the arc.

“They are a great team, and are one of the top two teams in our conference,” Head Coach Bill Robinson said. “It is great to get the opportunity to get a win at home. We knew they weren't going away without fighting. I'm proud of our team with the way we were able to withstand their late runs and were able to hang on for the win.”

Milligan improves to 5-8 overall and 1-0 in AAC play.

The Buffs return to action on Saturday, Jan. 8, when they host AAC foe Bluefield College. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m.