MILLIGAN, Tenn. – On Saturday night, the Milligan University men's basketball squad traveled to Winston-Salem N.C., as they went to battle against the hosting Bruins of Carolina University. The Buffaloes led for nearly the entire game and cruised to a 77-53 victory on the road.

The Bruins (1-1) scored the first basket of the game on a layup but the Buffs (1-2) answered with a three pointer from Ahmari Hicks to take a 3-2 lead that would not be relinquished for the remainder of the game. Then, both teams traded baskets, until a Te'Jon McDaniel-McCormick layup, Zivko Damjanovich jumper, and Elijah Bredwood free throw gave the Buffs a five-point lead with just over 10 minutes left in the first half. Milligan scored in bunches over the next eight minutes, as Bredwood scored seven points to lead the Buffs on a 12-2 run that gave them the lead 26-15 with five minutes to play. Then, Milligan extended the lead to 18 in the final five minutes of the half, which was capped off by a Zack Turner layup and three free throws with time expired from Sergej Cvetkovic to give Milligan a 41-23 lead heading into the break.

Carolina quickly cut the Milligan lead to eight to open the second half, but following a layup from the Bruins, a 13-6 stretch from the Buffs put Milligan ahead 55-40. Then, a Hicks three and two buckets from McDaniel-McCormick with just over five minutes to play led Milligan to a 7-0 run that put the game the game out of reach for Carolina (N.C.). Despite late baskets from the Bruins, a layup from Jake Benham ended the night with Buffs securing a victory by a comfortable margin at 77-53.

Bredwood led a balanced attack on offense for the Buffs and led all scorers with 20 points. Alongside Bredwood, four of the five starters reached double figures, as McDaniel-McCormick (16), Benham (15), and Hicks (12) all hit that mark. Milligan shot 6-of-13 (46.2%) beyond the arc and 26-of-54 (48.1%) overall. McDaniel-McCormick completed his double-double on the glass, grabbing a game-high 10 boards. Bredwood nearly got there with eight, and even with scoring 77 points, Milligan only had seven assists on the night with Benham dishing out a team-high three. 

Benham tallied three steals and a block in the win, and Bredwood added two steals to the six-theft total that the Buffs managed. Damjanovic had the other steal and McDaniel-McCormick tallied the remaining block.

Milligan outrebounded the Bruins 31-24 but were outscored in second chance points, 14-10. Both teams were even in points in the paint at 34, but the Buffs outpaced the Bruins in transition (16-9) and points off turnovers (18-11). The Buffs spent more time at the charity stripe with 27 attempts compared to the Bruins 18. Overall, there was only one score change and the Buffs held the largest advantage of 26 points.

The Buffs will be back in action Wednesday, Nov. 5 when they head to Middle Tennessee State for an exhibition match against the NCAA Division I opponent. Tip-off is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. ET (10:30 a.m. CT) in the Charles M. Murphy Athletic Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn.