WALESKA, Ga. - On Monday evening, the Milligan University men's basketball program traveled south to Waleska, Ga., where they battled with the Reinhardt University Eagles. The Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) contest was a rescheduled bout that was originally set to take place on Nov. 15, but was postponed. A slow first half for the Buffaloes was followed up in the second period by more of the same, as MU fell to the Eagles by a final of 80-68.
Half number one was dominated by the home squad, as Milligan struggled mightily to get their offense in rhythm. After leading 11-10 with 15:12 to go, the Buffs allowed a 15-2 run to Reinhardt over the next 5:52 of gameplay. From there, the sides traded buckets until the conclusion of the half at a 40-28 score in the hosts' favor. Reinhardt scored a 15-of-25 (60%) shooting clip in the first half, in stark contrast to the MU line of 13-of-33 (39.4%).
The second stanza was nearly a carbon copy of the first, as the Buffaloes continued to struggle on offense, shooting only 38.5% on 15-of-39 from the field. The Eagles played a more disciplined game, taking advantage of mostly open looks. After a late push from Milligan that saw them cut their deficit from 19 points down to as few as nine with 1:30 left to play, Reinhardt managed to hold on for an 80-68 win over Milligan. Much of the reason for the loss for MU was the team's struggle from long range, as they made only 3-of-29 from beyond the arc.
Elijah Bredwood displayed a 10-of-21 shooting line in the contest to score 20 points and lead the Buffaloes.
Te'Jon McDaniel-McCormick scored 18 points on a strong 6-of-10 showing with a perfect 5-of-5 clip from the charity stripe. Just one other player reached double figures, as
Ahmari Hicks scored 13, albeit on a 4-of-12 shooting day.
Milligan's offense was heavily based on isolation play in this one and only accrued eight assists. McDaniel-McCormick, Bredwood and
Jake Benham all supplied two assists, and
Zack Turner and
Grant Hensley added one apiece.
The Buffs were outrebounded by a wide margin as a contributing factor to the loss. They trailed 44-25 in backboards over the course of the contest. McDaniel-McCormick hauled in eight of those 25 to lead the way. Benham and
Liviu Anton nabbed four each, and
Bo Koebbe had three. Bredwood, Turner and
Luka Horvatic supplied the remaining three.
A total of 14 steals were compiled by Milligan, which is an impressive mark. Anton and Bredwood notched a trio each, while McDaniel-McCormick and Turner combined evenly for four. Benham, Horvatic, Koebbe and
Sergej Cvetkovic managed the last four. Hensley did reject the only shot of the game for the Buffaloes.
The next tussle on the schedule for the Buffs (3-4, 2-1 AAC) is a tilt with the Johnson University Royals in Knoxville, Tenn. on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m. After a tough loss, it will be a big test for Milligan on the road.
