MILLIGAN, Tenn. (December 9, 2023) – Follie Bogan's floater with three seconds remaining delivered the Milligan University men's basketball team to an 82-78 victory over Bryan at the Steve Lacy Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon.
The Buffs rise to 5-6 on the season and 5-4 in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play. Bryan falls 6-5 (4-5 AAC).
After leading by six at the half, Milligan led by 15 (67-52) with 10:37 to play in regulation. Bryan used a 9-0 run to bring the margin to five (67-62) with 7:31 to play. The Lions brought the score within a singl possession (72-70) with five minutes left.
The Lions tied the game at 76 with a three-pointer with 1:26 remaining. Bogan and Bryan's Caleb Grimes traded layups in the final 90 seconds. After a missing Bryan free throw in the last 30 seconds, Milligan drained the clock and Bogan drove into the paint and hoisted in the go-ahead basket with three seconds to play.
After a Lion's timeout, Bryan had to go the length of the floor to attempt a game-tying or game-winning shot but stepped out of bounds after inbounding the ball. Bogan made a pair of free throws with under a second left to clinch the game.
The first half featured four ties and four lead changes as Milligan gained an early 8-2 lead after six-straight points by Bogan. Bryan battled back to take a four-point edge at 19-15 with 12 minutes to go in the first half.
Lincoln Thomae successfully converted a four-point play to knot the game at 21 midway through the first half. Thomae scored on back-to-back fast break layups to give Milligan a 25-21 edge. The Lions tied the game at 29 with six minute to play in the half.
The Buffs used a late 11-2 run to build an eight-point lead (44-36). Bryan scored the final basket of the half to send the teams to the locker room with Milligan nursing a six-point edge (44-38).
Bogan finished with 28 points, six rebounds and five assists. Thomae had 15 points and 10 rebounds. McCaskill Rivers had 15 points and four rebounds. Sam Gold added a dozen points and six rebounds.
Jay Hickman recorded seven points and three assists in his Milligan debut. Flynn Carlson collected a game-high 13 rebounds.
Milligan turned 16 offensive rebounds into 18 second chance points and held a 22-12 edge in bench.
The Buffs travel to Montreat on Tuesday evening.
