Milligan College, Tenn. (Nov. 5, 2012) --- The Milligan College men's basketball team picked up their first win of the season on Monday night as they defeated Warren Wilson College 83-66 in their home opener inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.
 
   The teams traded shots to open the game before the Buffaloes got baskets from Cory Hendren (Lexington, S.C.) and Tyler DeVault (Kingsport, Tenn.) gave Milligan an 11-6 lead midway through the first half. After Warren Wilson closed the gap back to one point, the Buffaloes responded with a 9-0 run to take a 35-19 lead with under three minutes to play in the half.
 
   The Owls quickly trimmed the Milligan lead to 11 points, but Scott Blake (Greeneville, Tenn.) drained a 3-pointer and DeVault scored in the closing seconds to give the Buffaloes a 41-27 lead at the half.
 
   DeVault led the way in the first half with 11 points, while Kurt Brooks (Newport, Tenn.) had 10 points in the half. In the half, Milligan was 14-of-31 (45%) from the floor and 5-of-8 (63%) from behind the 3-point line, while the Owls were 9-of-31 (29%) from the field and 2-of-8 (25%) from behind the arc.
 
   Warren Wilson opened the second half on a 14-4 run to cut the Milligan lead to 45-41 five minutes into the period. Ignas Palaima (Lithuania) recorded back-to-back baskets to stop the Owls' run and sparked the Buffaloes to go on an 8-2 run of their own. After the Owls closed the gap back to six points, DeVault scored on a 3-point play and Blake drained a jumper to put Milligan up 58-50 midway through the half.
 
   The Buffaloes extended their lead back to double digits with points from Cartree Pettis (Oveido, Fla.), Mickey Woods (Port Arthur, Tex.) and Blake as they maintained a 68-54 lead with five minutes left in the game. Milligan continued to keep the Owls at bay for the remainder of the game as they used four points apiece from Palaima and DeVault to secure the win.
 
   DeVault led the way with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Blake ended the game with 15 points. Brooks tallied 12 points and three assists. Torian Sitton (Hendersonville, N.C.) scored 12 points, while Palaima had nine points in the game.
 
   As a team, the Buffaloes were 32-of-69 (46%) from the field and 6-of-13 (46%) from the 3-point line, while Warren Wilson was 23-of-65 (35%) from the floor and 8-of-22 (36%) from the 3-point line.

   With the win, Milligan improves to 1-1 on the season.
 
    The Buffaloes return to action on Thursday, Nov. 8, as they travel to Alice Lloyd College for a nonconference matchup. Game time is set for 7 p.m., in Pippa Passes, Ky.