MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Feb. 20, 2016) â€" Senior Kurt Brooks scored a team-high 18 points on three 3-pointers and Milos Petrovic had 12 points as they came up big down the stretch and helped lead the Milligan College men's basketball team to a 83-78 victory over Warren Wilson College in the final regular-season game Saturday at Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.
 
In addition to Brooks and Petrovic, the Buffaloes' other seniors, Julian Bailey and James Songster, finished with eight points and six points, respectively, while Bailey also came up with a big play in the final minute and added a team-high 10 rebounds.
 
The game represented the 18th straight double-digit performance by Brooks, and was also his 24th in 26 games during his final campaign as he outdid Bailey by one in the category this year. Bailey's double-digit rebound effort, however, was his team-leading 17th of the season and third straight heading into the postseason, while Brooks is now on a seven-game streak of draining three or more 3-pointers. The 12-point effort by Petrovic was the third highest of his senior season.
 
With the win, Milligan improved to 16-10 on the year while Warren Wilson fell to 16-13.
 
All in all, the four seniors filled out the stat sheet as Brooks and Songster were next with seven boards apiece while Petrovic had five. Songster matched Cole Anderson with a game-high five assists with Brooks coming in next with four helpers. Songster's five assists were good for his team-leading fifth game of five or more dishes. The trio of Brooks, Petrovic and Songster each added two steals while Bailey had a block.
 
Outside of the first three minutes of the game, Milligan led the final 36:53 as it took leads by as many as 13 (26-13) in the first half and 21 (63-42) in the second half. After the Owls got the margin down to three late in the opening 20 minutes at 33-30, the Buffs closed the half on an 11-2 run featuring five points from David Casaday and other scores from Jacob Cawood, Songster and Gabriel Logan.
 
Logan and Casaday were the other scorers to reach double figures for the Buffs as they finished with 12 and 11, respectively.  The Milligan lead would not return to single digits until a 13-1 Warren Wilson run starting around the 9:30 mark in the game made it 71-66 with 3:32 remaining. The Buffs only point during the six-minute scoring drought was a free throw by Will Buckner.
 
With all of the momentum pointing toward Warren Wilson and an upset on senior day, the seniors for the Buffs did what seniors are supposed to do as every time the Owls cut the score to a one-possession game, a Milligan senior was there with the answer.
 
A 2-pointer by Steven Horton Jr. for the Owls made it 73-70 with two and a half minutes left before Bailey scored in the paint to make it a five-point game again. Next, a 3-pointer by the Owls' Devin Davis 20 seconds later made it a two-point margin, but an offensive rebound and a score by Petrovic again gave the Buffs some breathing room at 77-73 with a minute left.
 
Then only a few seconds later, a 3-point attempt by Justin Gonyea was blocked by Bailey. An offensive rebound, a steal and four free throws by Brooks made it a six-point game before another Owls' three, this one by Tyler Triplet, got it back down to three at 81-78 with 16 seconds left. Brooks and Casaday then both hit a free throw to seal it.
 
Gonyea led the Owls with a game-high 19 points on five threes, but had his final attempt from long range block by Bailey. Jaquann Lockhart finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double.
 
Next up, Milligan sets its sights on the Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament, where it will play as the No. 4 seed and currently awaits to see who earns the No. 5 seed. The tournament is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 24, through Saturday, Feb. 27, with a berth to the NAIA National Tournament on the line for the winner.