MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Feb. 15, 2014) â€" Resilience was on display by the Milligan College men's basketball team Saturday night at the Steve Lacy Fieldhouse as the Buffaloes overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to beat AAC foe Virginia Intermont College 98-93 on senior night.
 
Milligan (16-8, 10-6 AAC) won its third straight and eighth of its last nine to help Scott Blake, Corey Hendren and Torian Sitton finish their final season 8-2 on their home court. Virginia Intermont dropped to 9-15 (7-9 AAC).
 
Milligan, despite earning an early lead, trailed for most of the first half and faced a 49-40 deficit at the halftime break before Mickey Woods took over at the start of the second half. Woods, who finished with a team-high 26 points, scored nine of Milligan's first 11 second-half points as part of an 11-2 run where the Buffaloes brought the game back to a tie.
 
From that point on, Milligan and Virginia Intermont would see eight more ties (13 total for the game) and 11 more lead changes (18 total) as the game came down to the final minutes.
 
Kurt Brooks gave Milligan the lead for good with two made free throws at the 2:19 mark. Milligan's defense then forced the Cobras into three turnovers and two missed shots on their final five defensive stands.
 
Virginia Intermont's JD Tucker led all scorers with 34 points on 9-of-15 shooting. He was a perfect 15-for-15 from the free throw line. Joshua Hart scored 22 points off the bench. The pair added nine rebounds apiece.
 
Woods' 26 points led Milligan, but Morgan McLeod enjoyed a monster game of 22 points and 15 rebounds (10 on the offensive end).
 
Senior Sitton, a third Buffalo to reach 20 points in the win, finished with 20 points and five assists.
 
Other seniors Blake and Hendren added three points apiece, each knocking down a three-pointer in the first half. Hendren's three was Milligan's second basket of the game.
 
Milligan will be on the road for the final two games of the season, taking on second-place Reinhardt University (14-11, 11-4 AAC) on Monday, Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in Waleska, Ga. Milligan fell by three at home to Reinhardt earlier this year.