MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Nov. 21, 2015) â€" It came down to free throws, and in the end the Milligan College men's basketball team was just a little better. In a game which featured six lead changes in the last four minutes and eight free throws in the last 30 seconds, senior Kurt Brooks made one with 8.9 seconds left to give Milligan a 79-78 Appalachian Athletic Conference victory over St. Andrews University Saturday evening at Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.
 
The victory was Head Coach Bill Robinson's 100th win at Milligan.
 
Milligan improved to 6-0 (2-0 AAC), starting the season with six straight wins for the second year in a row after last year's team started 8-0 and went on to make the NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship tournament. St. Andrews fell to 1-3 (1-1 AAC).
 
Brooks finished with 18 points and was 9-of-10 from the foul line, his only miss coming after the one that gave the Buffs the final lead. He added five rebounds and four assists on the way to providing Milligan with the winning points in the final seconds for the second game in a row.
 
Milligan was led by Julian Bailey's career night featuring 22 points and 17 rebounds. Both figures were new career highs for the senior as he broke his previous mark of 21 points set earlier this season and his previous mark of 14 rebounds set last November. Bailey, who earned his third double-double this season at the 16:43-mark of the second half, might have done more damage if not for being in foul trouble.
 
Milligan suffered from a slow start and needed to overcome an early seven-point deficit but roared back with a 16-5 run in the middle of the first half to take control of the game. After that run, which was capped by a Bailey steal and breakaway layup, the Buffs never trailed again until a 3-pointer from SAU's Titus Gary put the Knights on top 71-69 with 3:53 to go.
 
The lead then changed hands six times and the game included three ties over the last four minutes.
 
After Bailey and Brooks, Milos Petrovic was next in the scoring column with 11 points.
 
St. Andrews was led in scoring by Alex Tharp who scored 21 points on 9-for-11 shooting and did not miss a 3-pointer on three attempts. In fact, the Knights were 8-of-14 (57.1%) from the perimeter as a team.
 
Milligan will be on the road Tuesday, Nov. 24, for an AAC match up versus Truett-McConnell College before playing two games in Kingsport at the MeadowView Marriott on Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 28-29. The Buffs are back home on Saturday, Dec. 5, to host Montreat College.