Milligan College, Tenn. (Jan. 23, 2013) --- The Milligan College men's basketball won their third straight game on Wednesday night as they defeated Virginia Intermont 76-58 in Appalachian Athletic Conference action inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.
 
   Tyler DeVault (Kingsport, Tenn.) and Cartree Pettis (Oviedo, Fla.) opened the scoring for the Buffaloes, and Milligan used the early momentum to run out to a 16-4 lead with just over 13 minutes left in the half as the run was capped off by points from Mickey Woods (Port Arthur, Tex.) and Pettis. The Cobras responded with a 8-0 run to close the gap to 16-12 just past the midway point of the half.
 
   Chris Ellis (Bristol, Tenn.) stopped the VI run with a jumper and Pettis jump started a 6-0 run as Milligan extended their lead. After the Cobras pulled the lead back to six points, Milligan ran out to a 36-23 lead with baskets from Morgan McLeod (Hickory, N.C.) and Corey Hendren (Lexington, S.C.), and Scott Blake (Greeneville, Tenn.) hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put Milligan up 44-30 at the half.
 
   Pettis ended the half with 11 points, while Blake had nine points. As a team, the Buffaloes ended the half 19-of-34 (56%) from the field and 5-of-10 (50%) from behind the 3-point line. VI finished the half 11-of-30 (37%) from the floor and 2-of-9 (22%) from behind the arc. In the first half, the Buffaloes held VI's Joshua Hart, the AAC's Player of the week, to just two points
 
    Torian Sitton (Hendersonville, N.C.) scored the first two baskets of the second half for Milligan to push the lead to 17 points, and the Buffaloes maintained a 54-36 lead five minutes into the half. The Cobras, however, closed the gap to nine points just before the midpoint of the half. DeVault extended the Milligan lead back to 11 points with a jumper, and the Buffaloes used points from DeVault and Pettis to quickly take a 61-47 lead with nine minutes remaining.
 
   The Milligan defense kept VI without a field goal for over seven minutes, while Kurt Brooks (Newport, Tenn.) and Sitton helped the Buffaloes take a 67-51 lead with five minutes to play. The Buffaloes maintained their advantage over the final minutes to secure the victory.
 
   DeVault and Pettis led the way with 14 points, while Sitton ended the game with 13 points. Blake finished with 12 points. Milligan held VI's Hart to just four points.
 
   As a team, the Buffaloes ended the game 30-of-59 (51%) from the field and 8-of-19 (42%) from behind the arc. VI finished the game 21-of-55 (38%) from the floor and 4-of-14 (29%) from behind the field.
 
   With the win, Milligan improves to 7-2 in AAC action and 15-7 overall, while VI falls to 12-9 overall and 6-3 in conference action.
 
   The Buffaloes return to action on Saturday, Jan. 26, as they travel to AAC foe Montreat College. Tipoff in Montreat, N.C., is set for 7:30 p.m.