MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Jan. 12, 2019) â€" Desean Green supplied a career high 23 points and Aaron Levarity posted a double-double as the Milligan College men's basketball team outlasted Tennessee Wesleyan 88-85 in overtime in an Appalachian Athletic Conference battle Saturday afternoon at Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.
 
The win marked Milligan's fifth straight as they improved to 11-5 overall and 7-4 in AAC play. This is the first five game winning streak for the Buffaloes since they won six straight last February. Tennessee Wesleyan fell to 8-8 and 4-7 in conference play.
 
LEVARITY SEALS VICTORY FOR THE BUFFS
With 17 seconds remaining in regulation, Milligan trailed 76-74 after the Bulldogs' QD Cox split a pair of foul shots. Green pushed the ball up the floor off the missed free throw and found Cawood on the wing, who missed the potential game-winner wide, but Levarity was there for the offensive board and got fouled on the putback attempt with .2 seconds remaining.
 
The senior calmly walked up to the line and drained both free throws to send the game to overtime.
 
The teams traded the lead back-and-forth to begin the overtime period before Cawood and Tyler Faulkenberry scored back-to-back buckets to give Milligan an 86-82 lead. Cox would cut the lead to one on the ensuing possession with a 3-pointer but that would be the closest the Bulldogs would get.
 
Wesleyan had one final opportunity to tie or win the game with 15 seconds remaining after a Tyler Nichols turnover. Jordan Davis drove left and layed up what looked to be the game winner, but the ball just rimmed out and Levarity was there once again on the boards for the Buffs sealing the win.
 
Levarity was fouled on the rebound and knocked down both foul shots to make the final score 88-85.
 
GAME OF RUNS IN SECOND HALF
After a fast paced back and forth first half of action, the second period didn't disappoint. Wesleyan held the lead for the majority of the first 10 minutes of the second half, but that would change thanks to Faulkenberry. The junior went on a 6-0 run of his own with the Buffs trailing 60-57 to flip the advantage to Milligan at 63-60.
 
The 6-0 spurt from Faulkenberry was a part of an 8-1 Milligan run, but Wesleyan would respond with an 11-2 surge of their own to retake the lead 72-67 with 3:36 remaining in the half. The Bulldogs never trailed throughout the remainder of regulation, but the Buffs made just enough plays down the stretch to send the game to overtime.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
Green added five assists and six rebounds to go along with his 23 points as the junior filled up the stat sheet. The junior from Houston, Texas, shot 10-of-15 from the field and finished 3-of-4 from the charity stripe.
 
Levarity recorded his 11th double-double of the year, which is leads the AAC, as he registered 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 11 rebounds. The senior also blocked a season high four shots, which tied his career high.
 
Faulkenberry and Cawood rounded out the four Buffs in double figures as they poured in 19 and 17 respectively. Cawood, the redshirt junior, has been on a tear of late averaging 15.5 points per game over his last four contests.
 
Nichols posted a 5-5-5 game as the redshirt junior finished with seven points, five rebounds and five assists.
 
Milligan shot the ball well draining 51.5 percent of their attempts from the field and netting 14-of-18 free throws. On the flip side, Wesleyan shot 48.6 percent from the field but only took eight foul shots on the day.
 
Cox led four Bulldogs in double figures with 21 points and seven rebounds. Djimon Wilson, Ty Patterson and Jordan Davis followed with 19, 14 and 10 respectively.
 
UP NEXT
Milligan will hit the road for their final nonconference contest of the season as they face Johnson University Monday, Jan. 14, at 7:30 p.m. The Buffs return to Steve Lacy Fieldhouse for an AAC matchup Wednesday, Jan. 16, against Columbia International. Tip-off is set for approximately 7:30 p.m.

ðŸ"·: Robert Kell, Creative Story Visuals