MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Nov. 7, 2015) â€" Led by double-digit scoring from four players, including a game-high 18 from senior Julian Bailey and a career-high 15 by freshman Will Buckner, the Milligan College men's basketball team defeated Emory & Henry College 83-69 Saturday night in its home opener at the Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.
 
Milligan moved to 2-0 on the season to remain unbeaten, while Emory & Henry fell to 0-1. In addition to Bailey and Buckner, the other Buffaloes in double-digits were Kurt Brooks (17) and Alex Biggerstaff (16), while freshman Jacob Cawood added nine.
 
Bailey's 18 tied his previous career high set last season, while Cawood's nine was a career-high in what was, like Buckner, only his second game as a college freshman. Additionally, Bailey did his damage with a strong shooting mark (6-7) from the field, while Buckner was at 60 percent (6-10) and Biggerstaff was 5-8 overall and 2-4 from 3-point range. Lastly, Buckner and David Casaday led the Buffs on the boards with six rebounds, while Bailey and Biggerstaff added five.
 
After a three by Brooks turned an early 5-3 deficit into a 6-5 lead four minutes into the game, the Buffs never trailed again in the first half. Milligan then went up by eight (14-6) just over four minutes later thanks to two baskets from Cawood, and then found themselves ahead by nine at 20-11 after two free throws by Biggerstaff with just over nine minutes to play in the opening half.
 
The Wasps, however, then used a 9-0 run to get within one point of the Buffs, but Milligan responded with buckets by Milos Petrovic and James Songster and two free throws by Brooks to open it back up and turn a 22-21 score into a 28-21 lead.
 
Emory & Henry proceeded to open the second half on a 6-1 run to retake the lead at 38-37 after trailing 36-32 at the half. Milligan, however, bounced back in a big way with a 13-2 run featuring two baskets by Biggerstaff and Buckner and two others from Bailey and Brooks to go up by 10 and put the pressure on the Wasps.
 
The Buffs largest lead of the game was 14, which they reached twice at 57-43 (10:32) and 59-45 (8:43), but the Wasps managed to get the lead back to single digits twice, first at 62-53 (6:37) and then again at 69-60 (3:16). This was all before a three from Biggerstaff and two free throws by Cawood got in back to 14 at 74-60 to all but salt the game away.
 
Next up, Milligan returns to road action for the next week and a half, beginning with a trip to Knoxville, Tennessee, on Tuesday, Nov. 10, against the Johnson University Royals at 8 p.m.