Milligan College, Tenn. (Feb. 5, 2011) --- The AAC leading Milligan College men's basketball team picked up a crucial victory on Saturday afternoon as they defeated second place and nationally ranked Bryan College 74-62 inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse. The win gives the Buffs a two-game lead in the AAC standings

The opening minutes of the contest saw the teams swap the lead, and freshman Kyle Grisby (Charlotte, N.C.) gave the Buffs an early 7-5 lead four minutes into the game. Cordero Seymour (Inagua, Bahamas) extended the Milligan lead to four points with a slam off of a Tim Harper (Catawba, N.C.) steal.

After Milligan led 17-13 at the 10 minute mark, the Lions quickly tied the game at 19. However, the Buffs moved back in front and Hudson Fricke (Greeneville, S.C.) gave the Buffs their largest lead of the half at 28-21 with four minutes remaining in the half. A Bryan run cut the gap to 36-33 at the half.

The second half saw the teams trade shots as the Buffs held on to a 42-39 lead with 16 minutes remaining. Fricke shot Milligan to a 53-44 lead with a 3-pointer with 12:17 left, and the Buffs held that advantage to 57-49 at the midpoint of the final period. The Lions cut the gap to three points, but Grisby scored four straight points to move the Milligan lead to 62-54 with six minutes left. The Lions closed the gap with a 6-2 run as they pulled within four points with two minutes left.

Justin Sylvester (Kingsport, Tenn.) drained a jump shot with just over a minute remaining, but Bryan countered with a pair of free throws with 43 seconds left. Grisby drained a pair of free throws before grabbing the game winning rebound on the ensuing possession. After an intentional foul was called, Grisby drained two free throws plus two more down the stretch to secure the win.

Milligan was led by Grisby's 24 points. Fricke added 19 points, while Harper scored 11 points.

The Buffs were 25-of-53 (47%) from the field and 7-of-21 (33%) from behind the arc. Bryan was 20-of-62 (32%) from the floor and 6-of-19 (31%) from the 3-point line.

With the win, Milligan improved to 13-10 overall and 9-1 in the AAC.

“It's a big win for us,” Head Coach Bill Robinson said. “Obviously, you want to win at home, especially in front of such a great crowd we had today. It was a great atmosphere and a big win for this time of year."

The Buffs return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 9, for an AAC matchup with Virginia Intermont. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m., inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.