Athens, Tenn. (Jan. 14, 2012) --- The Milligan College men's basketball team was unable to overcome a late rally as they fell 82-75 to AAC rival Tennessee Wesleyan College on Saturday afternoon in Athens, Tenn.
 
   The Bulldogs opened the game quickly as they ran out to a 11-2 lead in the opening minutes. However, Milligan slowly trimmed the deficit as Marshall Hardy (Kingsport, Tenn.) took full use of a plus one to pull the Bufffaloes within four points with just under three minutes left in the first half. The Bulldogs quickly added to their lead, but Torian Sitton (Hendersonville, N.C.) drained a jumper to close the TWC lead to 37-33 at the half.
 
   Milligan quickly tied the game to start the second half with a Hardy basket, and then took their first lead of the game with a Tyler DeVault (Kingsport, Tenn.) jumper. The Buffaloes continued the momentum as Mickey Woods (Port Arthur, Tex.) knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Milligan a 50-43 advantage five minutes into the half.
 
   However, Tennessee Wesleyan regained the lead and led by as many as nine points, but the Buffaloes fought back again as Hardy tied the game with a jumper and gave Milligan a 71-70 lead with 2:50 in the game. The Bulldogs responded on the other end, but the Buffaloes were unable to answer before time expired.
 
   DeVault, who set a new career high of 24 points in Wednesday's victory over Union, had another impressive 20 point performance to lead the Milligan scoring. Kyle Grisby (Charlotte, N.C.) had 12 points, while Hardy tallied 11 points. Cordero Seymour (Inagua, Bahamas) ended the game with 10 points.
 
   As a team, Milligan finished the game 29-of-54 (54%) from the floor and 4-of-7 (57%) from the 3-point line. Tennessee Wesleyan was 26-of-51 (51%) from the field and 2-of-15 (13%) from the 3-point line.
 
   With the loss, the Buffaloes fall to 5-10 overall and 3-4 in AAC action.
 
   Milligan returns to action on Monday, Jan. 16, when they travel to Asheville, N.C., for a nonconference matchup with Warren Wilson. Game time is set for 3 p.m.