MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Jan. 26, 2019) â€" Despite 24 points from Desean Green, the Milligan College men's basketball team lost an Appalachian Athletic Conference heartbreaker to Reinhardt University 83-82 Saturday afternoon inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.
 
The loss snapped the Buffaloes 10 game win streak as they fell to 16-6 overall and 11-5 in AAC play. Reinhardt has now won three straight and improved to 11-10 and 9-7 in conference play.
 
Trailing by seven with 1:03 remaining in the contest, the Buffs locked in defensively and got some help from the Eagles, who missed 3-of-6 free throw attempts in crunch time. Milligan was able to trim the deficit to one with four seconds remaining on a layup by Aaron Levarity, setting up a wild finish.
 
On the ensuing inbounds pass, Latroy Strong of Reinhardt airmailed the inbounds pass giving the Buffs one final possession for the win. Milligan advanced the ball into the front court after a near turnover was last touched by the Eagles with only two seconds remaining.
 
Bo Pless found Green on the left elbow and the junior had a solid look at the basket, but just couldn't bank it in as the ball rimmed out.
 
TURNING POINT
Milligan led at the halftime break 39-36 and by as much as six early in the second half, but the Eagles would put together a 13-2 run that flipped the momentum of the contest. The Buffs went from leading 52-46 to trailing 59-54 with 11:41 remaining. Milligan would never recapture the lead.
 
Tyler Nichols did manage to tie the contest with a 3-pointer at the 8:01 mark, but Reinhardt responded with a 5-0 run to quiet the Buffs momentum.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
Four Buffs registered double figures on the night led by Green's 24 points, which was a career high. The junior also hauled in 10 rebounds, dished out four assists and came away with two steals.
 
Jacob Cawood followed with 21 points and four assists, while Nichols finished with 15 points. Levarity was the only other Buff in double figures as the senior posted 14 points and 13 rebounds for his 17th double-double of the year.
 
The rest of the Milligan team combined for eight points on the afternoon.
 
Overall, Milligan finished the day shooting 45 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from 3-point territory. The foul line is what really hurt the Buffs as they finished 20-of-32 from the charity stripe.
 
FOR REINHARDT
The Eagles were led by Strong who compiled 21 points and seven rebounds. Samuel Bunkley (16), Michael Mays (15) and Cody Carden (11) joined Strong in double figures.
 
The Eagles shot 46 percent from the field on the day, 38.9 percent from 3-point range and 78.3 percent from the foul line.
 
PREGAME FESTIVITIES
Before the game, Levarity was honored with a special ball to commemorate his 1,000th career point which he surpassed last Saturday at St. Andrews.
 
Also, the Milligan staff took part in Coaches vs. Cancer by wearing sneakers with their game day attire to help raise awareness.
 
UP NEXT
Milligan heads back out on the road for two AAC contests beginning with Truett McConnell Tuesday, Jan. 29, at 7:30 p.m. The Buffs will finish out the quick two game road trip with a showdown against Montreat College Thursday, Jan. 31, that will have massive implications on the conference title race. Milligan returns to Steve Lacy Fieldhouse Saturday, Feb. 2, for a matchup against Allen at approximately 4 p.m.