KINGSPORT, Tenn. (Nov. 26, 2016) â€" The Milligan College men's basketball team traveled to Kingsport on Saturday to compete in the NAIA Division II Showcase. The Buffs opened the tournament against the No. 19 ranked Warner University Royals and fell 103-88.
 
Milligan (4-4, 2-1 AAC) stayed within striking distance of the high-scoring Royals in the opening minutes. At the 14:49 mark, a three point play from sophomore Jacob Cawood put the Buffaloes within one and trailed 17-18. In the following minutes, Warner put some distance between them with a 14-3 run and took a 12 point lead.
 
Back-to-back field goals from freshman Bo Pless brought Milligan back to a seven point deficit with 8:42 to go in the first half.
 
The Royals shut out the Buffaloes over the next six minutes and went on a scoring frenzy, building a 30 point lead off a 23-0 run. Milligan trailed 32-59 at the half.
 
After shooting 13 of 30 in the first half, the Buffaloes found some rhythm on offense in the second half and shot 20 of 34 including 10 of 20 from beyond the three-point line.
 
A pair of freshmen gave Milligan a spark off the bench to help cut the deficit and lead the Buffaloes to a strong second half. Pless scored eight of his 15 points in the second half. Tyler Faulkenberry shot five of nine from downtown and scored all 15 of his points in the second half.
 
A three pointer from senior Alex Biggerstaff cut the Royal lead to 15, the smallest lead of the half. The Buffaloes outscored Warner 56-44 in the second half, but it wasn't enough to overcome the first half.
 
Warner's Warren Hall, the leading scorer in all of NAIA DII basketball (39.0 PPG), led all scorers in the game with 46 points and finished with nine rebounds, six assists and three steals.
 
The Buffaloes return to action at the MeadowView Marriot in Kingsport Sunday to take on the West Virginia Institute of Technology. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.