BARBOURVILLE, Ky. (Feb. 6, 2016) â€" In a rematch of one of the most exciting finishes of the season, the Milligan College men's basketball team put four players in double figures, but it was not enough as the Buffaloes fell to No. 5 Union College 101-85 Saturday night.
 
Milligan (13-8, 9-6 AAC) remained alone in third place in the Appalachian Athletic Conference, where the Buffs have a one-game lead over Reinhardt and a two-game lead over the rest of the field. Union, which already has a six-point win over the top-ranked team in the country, improved to 21-4 (12-1 AAC).
 
Kurt Brooks led the way for the Buffs with 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting. He was 3-for-5 from 3-point range and added three rebounds and two assists. Julian Bailey was a rebound shy of a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds, and Jacob Cawood and James Songster finished with 13 and 10, respectively.
 
The game changed leads seven times in the first 10 minutes until the Bulldogs took it for good with a basket by J.D. Tucker which made it 20-19. Union then hit 3-pointers on its next two possessions and closed out the first half on a 21-9 run.
 
Milligan, which trailed 53-48 at the intermission, cut it to 12 with just under seven minutes left in the second half but could not get any closer.
 
For Union, Tucker had 23 points and eight rebounds while Nick Riley led all scorers with 26 points and eight assists.
 
In the teams' previous meeting, Union, ranked No. 6 at the time, led nearly the whole way until a Milligan rally cut it to a three-point game with under 90 seconds left. In the end, it was free throws that won it for Union.
 
Milligan has a busy week next week with three home games scheduled over the next eight days. On Monday, Feb. 8, and Saturday, Feb. 13, the Buffs host AAC foes No. 15 Tennessee Wesleyan College and Point University, respectively. On Wednesday, Feb. 10, they host Johnson University. The game on Monday against Tennessee Wesleyan will be a big matchup in the AAC as Milligan is currently TWC's only loss of the season, and the Bulldogs are the league leaders.