MILLIGAN, Tenn. - The Milligan University men's basketball program played their first home Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) game of 2026 Wednesday night against the Golden Bears of Truett McConnell University. After falling behind in the first half, Milligan battled throughout the second half but could not get over the hump, eventually falling by a final score of 77-70.

In the first half, the Bears started the game by scoring the first eight points, but the Buffs responded with 5-0 scoring run behind a Jake Benham three and Elijah Bredwood layup. Over the next five minutes, Milligan continued the momentum and a Zivko Damjanovic jumper gave them their first lead of the game at 12-10 just under the 15 minute mark. Truett McConnell responded by scoring 14 of the next 16 points to recapture the lead 24-14 with 10 minutes remaining in the half. Three minutes later, Sergej Cvetkovic buried a triple to bring MU within three points, but TMU scored 14 straight points to reopen their lead to 17 at 40-23 with three minutes left. Down the stretch, free throws from Liviu Anton and a three pointer from Grant Hensley brought the Buffs back to within 10 points, but a jump shot at the buzzer gave the Bears a 44-32 advantage going into halftime.

Milligan scored the first points of the second half on a layup from Bredwood, but the Bears answered with two free throws.  The Bears kept the Buffs at distance holding their lead with both sides exchanging baskets and with 10 minutes and 30 seconds left to play they led 57-46. Over the next five minutes, MU attempted to cut into the deficit, but TMU's lead remained at 11 with five minutes left in the contest. A Hensley jumper followed by two free throws from Benham brought the Buffs within seven points (68-61) with three minutes left. Poised to make a run at the end, Milligan benefited from a technical foul free throw but still were unable to close the gap, as Truett McConnell capitalized at the charity stripe and defeated MU 77-70.  

Bredwood and Hensley led Milligan in scoring with Bredwood going 6-of-15 from the floor while Hensley finished 4-of-10 for 12 points apiece. Two other Buffs reached double-digit scoring in Zack Turner (11) and Benham (10). Overall, Milligan's offense finished 22-of-66 (33.3%) from the field and 9-of-29 (31%) from three. Neither side converted their free throws at a great rate, as the Buffs finished 17-of-25 (68%) from the line and the Bears ended at 50% after converting eight of their 16 attempts.

Milligan passed out 12 assists in the loss, led by Bredwood with seven. Hensley and Turner each dished out two, while Stefan Janevski had one.

The Buffs amassed a total of 26 rebounds, led by the tandem of Benham and Bo Koebbe with six apiece. The trio of Bredwood, Hensley and Anton all hauled in three. Damjanovic reeled in two, while Janevski, Cvetkovic and Turner each grabbed one.

The squad had nine steals and three blocks in the tilt, with Bredwood and Hensley each taking the ball away three times, while Benham, Turner and Anton took it away once. Hensley, Damjanovic, and Luka Horvatic each sent one shot away throughout the 40 minutes.

Milligan (4-14, 2-8 AAC) will head to Columbia, S.C. for their next AAC bout with the Koalas of Columbia College. The matchup is set to take place on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 4:30 p.m.