WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Milligan University's men's basketball team opened their 2026-27 campaign on the road at Carolina University in Winston-Salem, N.C. on Thursday evening. An all-around effort, highlighted by freshman
William Robinson's double-double, resulted in a dominant 90-65 win for the Buffs.
The contest was a tight one as the Buffaloes gained their footing over the first 15-ish minutes of action. It was a 28-27 lead for Milligan at the 5:13 mark remaining in the opening period. From there, Carolina could not keep pace, allowing a 16-3 scoring run to MU to close out the half. They led 44-30 at the intermission.
From there, the Bruins could only get back to a 10-point deficit at 50-40 with 16:13 remaining, but the Buffs raced away from CU with a 11-2 run over the next 3:51. They led 61-42 and continued to incrementally grow the lead over the last 10 minutes, eventually closing things out with a 90-65 victory.
It was a balanced offensive display for the Buffaloes, who shot 54.2% from the field on 32-of-59 from the field. Four Buffs were in double-figures in points scored. Robinson led the way with an impressive performance in the post, scoring 20 points on 8-of-15 from the field.
Te'Jon McDaniel-McCormick tallied 17 of his own on a 6-of-11 clip, and made both of his three-point attempts.
Bo Koebbe scored his 13 points while shooting 6-of-7 in the tilt.
Zack Turner was 3-of-5 from the floor and 1-of-3 from distance to score 11 points. Jackson Simmons (8),
Jake Benham (7),
Stefan Janevski (6) and
Sergej Cvetkovic (4) all made a pair of field goals in the win.
Judah Carlyle also knocked down his lone shot attempt, a three-pointer.
The Buffaloes had a total of 14 assists in the contest, as McDaniel-McCormick led the way with six of them. Turner dished out three and Koebbe was responsible for two. Simmons, Carlyle and
Grant Hensley made up the other three.
Three total steals were taken by MU, as Turner, Simmons and Hensley racked those up. The Buffs also had a pair of blocked shots from Robinson and Turner.
Robinson led the way with a game-high 17 rebounds for Milligan. McDaniel-McCormick hauled in 10, as both he and Robinson completed their double-doubles. Koebbe and Janevski snatched four apiece, while Benham nabbed three. Two from Turner and Carlyle, as well as one each from Simmons, Hensley and
Trent Clark, rounded out the list of backboards brought in by the Buffs, as they finished with a 19-rebound advantage over Carolina.
Now, the Buffaloes (1-0) have a week to prepare for the Jimmy Faulkner Classic in Montgomery, Ala. on the campus of Faulkner University. Milligan's first game of the classic will be on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. (CT) against the hosting Eagles, who received votes in the NAIA Preseason Coaches' Top-25 Poll.
