Milligan College, Tenn. (Jan. 8, 2013) --- The Milligan College men's basketball team won their eighth straight home game in thrilling fashion as they defeated Appalachian Athletic Conference foe Bryan College 78-76 victory on Tuesday night. 
 
  The Lions opened the game quickly as they ran out to a 9-2 lead in the first four minutes of the game. The Buffaloes responded with a Scott Blake (Greeneville, Tenn.) 3-pointer to spark a 7-0 run as they trailed 13-11. Milligan continued to battle as Torian Sitton (Hendersonville, N.C.) hit a pair of free throws and Ignas Palaima (Lithuania) hit a jumper to spar a 9-0 run that gave the Buffaloes their first lead of the night at 20-17 with eight minutes left in the first half.
 
   After Mickey Woods (Port Arthur, Tex.) extended the Milligan lead to 23-19, Bryan closed the gap to one point. Sitton drained a 3-pointer as Milligan extended their lead to 28-22 with just over five minutes to play. However, Bryan outscored Milligan 12-4 in the final minutes to take a 34-33 lead into the half.
 
   Sitton led the way with seven points. As a team, Milligan finished the half 13-of-31 (42%) from the field and 4-of-12 (33%) from behind the arc. Bryan was 14-of-28 (50%) from the floor and 4-of-10 (40%) from behind the 3-point line.
 
   In the second half, the teams traded shots before the Lions went on a 7-1 run to take a 43-25 lead four minutes into the half. Tyler DeVault (Kingsport, Tenn.) stopped the Lion run to spark a 10-2 Milligan run to tie the game at 45-45 with 13 minutes left to play.
 
   After Bryan regained a seven point lead, Blake hit a 3-pointer to close the gap, but the Lions maintained a seven point advantage midway through the half. Corey Hendren (Lexington, S.C.) hit a 3-pointer to spark an 11-0 run that gave Milligan a 63-59 lead with 7:45 left in the game. After Bryan scored on a jumper, Sitton scored four straight points, and Cartree Pettis (Oviedo, Fla.) and DeVault added two points apiece to increase the Buffaloes lead to eight points with just over five minutes to play.
 
   The Lions closed the gap with an 8-0 run over a three minute stretch to tie the game at 71-71 with 3:34 left. Woods hit a jumper to put Milligan up by three, and then he answered a basket to give the Buffaloes a 75-74 lead with 2:30 left to play. After Robert Troino hit a pair of free throws to regain the lead for Bryan with 1:54 left, DeVault scored on a jumper with 1:37 left to play to put the Buffaloes up 77-76.
 
   In the final minute, the Milligan defense kept Bryan from evening the game up, as Woods grabbed a rebound with four seconds left in the game. After Woods added a free throw to the Milligan lead, the Buffaloes forced a quick turnover to secure the win.
 
   Woods and DeVault led the way with 14 points apiece, while Sitton ended the game with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Pettis recorded 11 points.
 
   As a team, Milligan finished the game 30-of-64 (47%) from the field and 6-of-17 (35%) from behind the arc. Bryan ended the game 31-of-60 (52%) from the floor and 9-of-21 (43%) from the 3-point line.
 
   With the win, the Buffaloes improve to a league best 4-1 in AAC action and 11-6 overall. Bryan drops to 1-3 in conference play and 5-11 overall.
 
   The Buffaloes return to action on Thursday, Jan. 10, as they travel to AAC foe Union (Ky.) College. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m., in Barbourville, Ky.