BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. - The Milligan University men's basketball program was on the road Saturday evening as they traveled to Black Mountain, N.C. for an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) conference matchup against the Cavaliers of Montreat College. Elijah Bredwood's 34 points were not enough to get the Buffs past the Cavaliers, as the Buffs were the victims of a high-powered Montreat offense that scored 61 points in the second half, causing the Buffs to fall by a final score of 105-84.

The Cavaliers (7-5, 4-3 AAC) quickly scored the first four points of the game on a layup and a dunk, but the Buffs (3-8, 2-5 AAC) got on the board with a layup from Elijah Bredwood. Montreat then went on a quick 9-1 scoring run to take a 12-3 lead with just over 15 minutes remaining in the first half. The Buffs responded with a run of their own and two free throws from Zack Turner gave them their first lead of the game at 17-16 just before the 10-minute mark. From there, the Cavaliers regained the momentum and began building a lead, with six minutes to play in the half the Cavalier lead had grown to 13, but a pair of free throws from Stefan Janevski with three minutes to play cut the Buffs deficit down to eight. In the final three minutes minutes of play, the Cavs scored seven points while the Buffs added only two points on free throws from Te'Jon McDaniel-McCormick which gave Montreat a 44-30 lead heading into the break. In the first half MU finished 6-20 (30%) on their field goal attempts, while MC went 16-26 (61.5%). The majority of the Buffs offense came from the charity stripe where they converted 18 of their 21 free throw attempts. The Cavs managed to get the line 13 times and converted on eight.  

Montreat swiftly extended their lead to 20 points on back-to-back threes two minutes into the second half. Milligan attempted to battle their way back into the game and with 13 minutes to play a Jake Benham shot from beyond the arc brought the Buffs within 14 points. Two minutes later, Benham knocked down another triple this time while getting fouled, after converting the free throw the Buffs were within 12 points and poised to make a run down the stretch. However, the Cavaliers shut down that opportunity with a 9-1 scoring run that extended their lead back to 20 with just over 8 minutes remaining, and despite a pair of late three-point baskets from Bredwood, a late flurry from the Cavs gave them a win at home with a final score of 105-84.

Bredwood led all scorers with 34 points on an efficient 10-of-22 shooting line and 4-of-10 beyond the arc, while McDaniel-McCormick was the only other Buff to reach double digits with 16 points. Ahmari Hicks and Benham both had a pair of threes in the contest, finishing with eight and seven points, respectively.  

Milligan had only six assists in the loss, led by McDaniel-McCormick with two, while Bredwood, Benham, Liviu Anton, and Turner each supplied a dime.  

Ten different Buffaloes reeled in at least one board. Anton led the Buffs with six rebounds. Bredwood, Grant Hensley, Benham, and McDaniel-McCormick each had three. Bo Koebbe had two and Turner, Hicks, Janevski, and Sergej Cvetkovic each reeled in one to account for the 27 total rebounds for the Buffs in the contest.

Milligan will now have a break from AAC matchups and will take part in Christmas at the Wooden event starting on Tuesday, Dec. 16. The event is hosted on the Athletes in Action campus. MU's first matchup will be against Taylor (Ind.) at 5 p.m. in Xenia, Ohio.