Milligan College, Tenn. (Feb. 23, 2011) --- The top-seeded Milligan College men's basketball team advanced in the AAC tournament on Wednesday night as they defeated Montreat College 100-81 inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse. The Buffaloes will face Union College on Saturday in the semifinal round.

The Buffaloes quickly ran out to 11-0 lead to open the game sparked by a 3-pointer from freshman Kyle Grisby (Charlotte, N.C.). The Cavaliers responded with an 8-2 run of their own to cut the lead to eight points. However, Hudson Fricke (Greeneville, S.C.) hit two 3-pointers in a row to shoot Milligan to a 22-8 lead with 12 minutes remaining in the first half. The Buffaloes maintained the advantage for most of the half before they went on an 11-0 run to take a 55-35 lead into halftime.

Montreat slowly cut the gap to start the second half as they pulled within 59-51 with 12:27 remaining in the game. However, former Dobyns-Bennett standouts Marshall Hardy (Kingsport, Tenn.) and Justin Sylvester (Kingsport, Tenn.) drained two shots apiece at the midpoint of the half to give Milligan a 68-55 lead with 10 minutes left in the game. That proved to be the tipping point as the Buffaloes went on a 7-2 run to pull away and take the victory.

Fricke led the way for Milligan with 31 points. Sylvester had 15 points, while Tyler DeVault (Kingsport, Tenn.) and Grisby had 11 points apiece. Hardy ended the night with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

As a team, Milligan was 33-of-67 (49%) from the field and 9-of-19 (47%) from the 3-point line. Montreat was 29-of-67 (44%) from the floor and 6-of-19 (32%) from behind the arc.

The Buffaloes will host the final two rounds of the tournament starting with the semifinal round on Saturday, Feb. 26, as Milligan will square off against Union at 4 p.m., inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.