KINGSPORT, Tenn. (Nov. 26, 2017) â€" Bo Pless and Daxton Bostian both had 3-point attempts with less than 10 seconds left, but the Milligan College men's basketball team came up short, 69-66, against University of Northwestern Ohio Sunday evening at the 2017 NAIA DII Showcase. The third annual tournament was held at MeadowView Marriott, site of the Appalachian Athletic Conference postseason tournament.
 
UNOH finished the game on a 19-8 run, including scoring the last six points, to send the Buffs to a tough-luck loss. Junior Aaron Levarity recorded his sixth straight double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, both game highs. Pless and junior Will Buckner scored 10 apiece for the Buffs. Levarity now ranks in the top five nationally in three rebounding categories, including No. 1 in offensive rebounds per game (5.0) and No. 2 in total rebounds (107).
 
LATE IN THE GAME
The second half featured three lead changes, and they all came in the final two and a half minutes. Sophomore Desean Green accounted for one of the lead changes with a made 3-pointer from the corner with 1:51 left to make it 63-62 in favor of Milligan. Despite expanding that lead up to 66-63 on a Pless 3-pointer with roughly 1:19 to go, UNOH trimmed the deficit to one, 66-65, with less than a minute left, then took the lead for good on a bucket by Corbin Pierce with 13 seconds left.
 
UNOH made it a three-point lead with 3.4 seconds left when Nathan Bradley connected on both free throws. Milligan then went the length of the floor and gave Bostian an open look from the wing as time expired, but the sophomore narrowly missed what would have sent the Buffs to overtime for the third time this season.
 
GAME NOTES
The game featured 11 lead changes and both teams expanded their own leads to double figures. UNOH led by 10 partway into the first half before Milligan used a 17-6 run to take the lead. Tyler Faulkenberry capped the run with a 3-pointer to make it 25-24, Milligan, with less than six minutes to go before the halftime break.
 
In the second half, Milligan went out by as many as 11, 51-40, after a David Casaday made 3-pointer with 11:45 left in the game. Casaday made another 3-pointer with less than eight minutes to go which put Milligan on top 58-50, moments before UNOH started its closing run.
 
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Green scored seven points for Milligan while adding four rebounds and four assists. Bostian had three rebounds and three assists with no turnovers. For UNOH, four players were in double figures, led by Pierce with 13.
 
UP NEXT
Milligan will be on the road for the next seven games before returning to Steve Lacy Fieldhouse for an AAC contest against Bryan College on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018.