WEST POINT, Ga. (Jan. 5, 2019) â€" Jacob Cawood and Desean Green combined for 32 points and the Milligan College men's basketball team picked up their third straight win with a 68-63 decision over fellow Appalachian Athletic Conference foe Point University inside West Point Park Gym Saturday afternoon.
 
The Buffaloes have now won five straight and 11 of the last 12 against the Skyhawks as they improved to 9-5 overall and 5-4 in AAC play. Milligan is now in a three-way tie for third place in the AAC and sit only 2.5 games back from No. 7 Union and Montreat for the top spot. Point, who entered the contest with five straight wins, dropped to 5-12 on the year and 3-7 in conference play.
 
Milligan roared out to a 36-22 lead at the break, but the Skyhawks continued to chip away in the second half and cut what was once a 14 point Buffs lead to one with 2:32 remaining in the game. Aaron Levarity responded on the following possession with a layup to extend the lead to 62-59, but Point would once again trim the lead to one.
 
After Point trimmed the lead to one for the final time at 64-63, Tyler Nichols closed out the win for Milligan in the final 30 seconds as he scored from inside the paint and then hauled in the game-sealing rebound and drew the foul after the Skyhawks missed the game-tying three. Nichols would hit both free throws as the Buffs escaped with their fourth road win of the year.
 
FIRST HALF SURGE
Milligan used an 8-0 run with the score tied at five apiece to open things up in the first half. The Buffs held Point scoreless for just under three minutes during the run. Even after the Skyhawks finally broke through offensively, Milligan continued to pour it on and extended the surge to a 20-6 run to build the lead to 14 points.
 
The Buffs would lead by as much as 18 in the first half behind a 9-3 run that started at the 6:15 mark and lasted for 5:03.
 
CAWOOD LEADS ALL SCORERS
Cawood led all scorers with a season-high 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting and scorched the nets from distance making 4-of-6 triples on the day. Green joined Cawood as the only other Buff in double figures as he tallied 14 points to go along with five rebounds.
 
It was a struggle offensively for most of the day for AAC's leading scorer, Levarity, as he finished with a season-low eight points, but the senior dominated the glass with 10 rebounds.
 
There was nice balance from the rest of the Buffs as Nichols supplied nine points, while Tyler Faulkenberry and Bo Pless each chipped in eight.
 
Pless played a crucial role for Milligan down the stretch as he knocked in two triples that helped keep the Skyhawks from putting together big runs in the second half. After Point cut the lead to four at 47-43, Pless followed with a clutch three and followed with another monster triple when the Skyhawks had got within two with just under four minutes remaining.
 
Offensively, Milligan shot 42.4 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from deep and a season best 83.3 percent from the foul line. On the defensive side, the Buffs held Point well below their season average of 87.2 points per game and suffocated the Skyhawks on the perimeter. Point was held to 24.1 percent from distance as the Buffs continued to prove why they're one of the best 3-point defenses in the country. Milligan entered the contest third in the nation in 3-point field goal defense.
 
Three Skyhawks reached double figures on the afternoon led by Rogers who registered 14 points and nine rebounds. Xavier Johnson and Demarcus Cunningham added 13 and 11 respectively.
 
UP NEXT
Milligan returns home to Steve Lacy Fieldhouse for their next two contests starting with an AAC tilt against Bluefield College Thursday, Jan. 10. Tip-off is set for approximately 7:30 p.m. directly following the women's game.