Milligan College, Tenn. (Dec. 21, 2012) --- The Milligan College men's basketball team came up short in exhibition action on Friday night as they fell to NCAA D-I Liberty University 81-63 in Lynchburg, Va.
 
   Ignas Palaima (Lithuania) opened the scoring to give Milligan an early lead, but the Flames answered with a 10-0 run until a Torian Sitton (Hendersonville, N.C.) layup as the Buffaloes trailed 10-4 four minutes into the game. After Liberty extended the lead to double-digits, Milligan fought back with four straight points from Palaima and a 3-pointer from Scott Blake (Greeneville, Tenn.) as the Buffaloes trailed 19-14 midway through the half.
 
   The Flames quickly responded with a run of their own. Milligan continued to fight as they trimmed the lead back to single digits but trailed 38-27 at the half.
 
   Palaima led the way in the half with eight points, while Sitton tallied seven points. As a team, the Buffaloes were 9-of-33 (27%) from the field and 4-of-13 (31%) from behind the arc. Liberty was 12-of-32 (38%) from the floor and 3-of-9 (37%) from the 3-point line.
 
   In the second half, Milligan continued to fight to trim the lead. However, they were unable to close the gap before time expired.
 
   Palaima finished the game with 15 points and seven rebounds. Sitton recorded 12 points, while Blake had 11 points. Morgan McLeod (Hickory, N.C.) finished with eight points.
 
   As a team, Milligan was 22-of-61 (36%) from the floor and 4-of-13 (31%) from behind the arc. The Flames were 27-of-65 (42%) from the field and 8-of-21 (38%) from the 3-point line.
 
   The Buffaloes will wrap up 2012 on Sunday, Dec. 30, in their final exhibition game of the season against Appalachian State. Game time inside the Holmes Convention Center is set for 2 p.m.