KINGSPORT, Tenn. (Nov. 29, 2015) â€" Julian Bailey finished with a two-day total of 24 rebounds to lead the NAIA DII Showcase, and he and Kurt Brooks led a second-half Buffaloes comeback that came down to the final shot. However, it was not enough as the Milligan College men's basketball team fell in the second day of the showcase to the University of Rio Grande 69-66 Sunday night at the MeadowView Marriott.
 
Brooks, who had a big bounceback game after scoring four the day before against No. 3 Davenport and failing to reach double-digit scoring for only the second time on the year, finished with a game-high 17 points on three 3-pointers and 50 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
 
Bailey, who averages double-digit boards on the season and began the night ranked seventh in the country in rebounds per game, finished with his team leading fifth double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds) and fourth straight double-digit rebound game.
 
Will Buckner had 10 points to round out the Buffs in double-figure scoring, while James Songster filled the stat sheet with six points, five rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks. Songster's assist, block and steal totals were all game-highs. Additionally, Songster finished second in the showcase in assists with an average of five per contest.
 
Milligan (7-2) took its first lead of the second half at 58-57 as Bailey scored with five and a half minutes to go, and the two teams proceed to trade baskets until the final 10 seconds when Brooks took the feed from Milos Petrovic and drove to the left side of the lane, but could not convert on a game-tying layup. After Rio Grande (6-4), who is receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches' Poll, made one of two free throws on the other end to go ahead 69-66, Brooks ran down three-fourths of the court and was long on a three at the buzzer that would have sent the game to overtime.
 
After Matt Rhodes hit a 3-pointer to put the RedStorm up by 12 early in the second half, Milligan responded with its first run of the game, an 8-0 stretch featuring a steal and a transition layup by Bailey, another bucket from Bailey and an acrobatic layup by Buckner to make it 41-38 with 13:50 left to play.
 
Rio then responded to go up by 11 again at 53-42 thanks to a 12-3 run, but the Buffs fought back to within one point at 53-52 after a huge 10-0 run that was capped off by a three from Brooks, who had two during the run.
 
The Buffs controlled the pace early as Petrovic scored four points and grabbed three boards in the first four minutes of action. Additionally, Petrovic and Bailey combined for each of Milligan's first eight points as the Buffs shot 50 percent from the field compared to 14.3 percent from the RedStorm during the span.
 
At the intermission, five Buffs combined for 25 of their 27 points as Bailey and Buckner each had six, Brooks had five, and Petrovic and Gabriel Logan each had four. Additionally, Bailey was already over halfway to his double-double at the break.
 
The RedStorm, who have not battled the Buffs since the two teams split back in the fall of 2006, were led by D.D. Joiner with 17 points, followed by Corey Cruse and Dwayne Bazemore both with 14, and Kevonta Black with 12. Additionally, Cruse led both teams with 13 rebounds, while Joiner finished with six boards to end up third in the showcase in rebounds per game at 11. Joiner also finished first in the showcase in points per game at 23.5.
 
Next up, the Buffs return to Appalachian Athletic Conference action where they are a league best 3-0, beginning at Reinhardt University in Waleska, Georgia, on Wednesday, Dec. 2, at 7:30 p.m. Milligan then returns to the Steve Lacy Fieldhouse on Saturday, Dec. 5, at 4 p.m. against Montreat College for its final home game of the fall stretch.