COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Milligan University men's basketball program was on the road Saturday evening in Columbia, S.C. as they faced Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) opponent Columbia College Koalas. A high scoring first half from both sides led to a contested matchup at halftime, but the Koalas offense continued to climb in the second half moving past the Buffs by a final score of 86-69.

The Koalas started the first half by scoring the first points of the game, but the Buffs quickly responded with a Liviu Anton layup to tie the game at two. Over the next six minutes, the teams remained evenly matched, adding six points apiece. The rest of the half was an offensive slugfest with neither side able to gain much separation. However, a Zack Turner steal led to a bucket at the other end, followed by a Bo Koebbe layup to give the Buffs a 19-15 lead with just under 10 minutes left in the half. Milligan maintained a slim 33-28 edge heading into the final five minutes, fueled by an Elijah Bredwood euro-step layup, free throws from Anton, and a Jake Benham layup. Late in the half, MU could not slow down the CC offense, conceding 18 points in a five-minute span that led to the Koalas taking a 46-37 lead. A Bredwood shot from long distance at the buzzer shifted the momentum back in the Buffs favor, despite trailing 46-40 heading into the break.

Milligan started the second half by giving up the first points to fall behind by 10, but an Anton jumper cut the deficit to single digits at 50-42. The Koalas kept the Buffs at distance holding their lead with both sides exchanging baskets, until a 10-2 scoring run from the Buffs behind a hoop and the harm conversion from Koebbe, a Grant Hensley layup and a pair of Te'Jon McDaniel-McCormick free-throws brought MU to within four points at 54-50 with 13:57 left to play. Milligan attempted to continue the momentum, but Columbia turned the tide and slowly expanded their lead to 16 with five minutes left in the contest. An Anton dunk and Koebbe layup were not enough for the Buffs in the final minutes, as the game was out of reach and they went on to drop another conference matchup by a final score of 86-69.  

Koebbe scored a career high 18 points on a flawless 7-of-7 shooting line to lead the Buffs. Three other Buffs reached double-digit scoring in Anton (13), Bredwood (12) and Benham (10). Overall, Milligan's offense finished 26-of-69 (37.7%) from the field and just 3-of-25 (12%) from three. The Buffs got to the free throw line 19 times and made 14, finishing at 73.7%.

Milligan passed out 13 assists in the loss, led by McDaniel-McCormick with five. Turner dished out three, while Bredwood and Stefan Janevski had two and Anton dealt one, respectively.

The Buffs amassed a total of 40 rebounds, led by Koebbe with nine. McDaniel-McCormick hauled in eight, followed by Anton with six. A plethora of Buffs in Bredwood, Hensley, Turner, Luka Horvatic and Sergej Cvetkovic each had two, while Benham and Janevski reeled in one.

The squad had nine steals, with Bredwood and McDaniel-McCormick each taking the ball away three times. Hensley, Turner and Anton all took the orange away on one occasion.

Milligan (4-15, 2-9 AAC) will look to turn things around when they return home on Wednesday, Jan. 21 to face the Bears of the University of Pikeville. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse.