JACKSON- The Millsaps Majors dropped another heartbreaker, this time to the visiting 9-1 Texas-Tyler Patriots 66-63, as Tully Gilligan's three-pointer fell short at the buzzer. 

This was another closely contested battle for all 40 minutes. Neither team was able to get a lot of momentum and the largest first half lead was by the Patriots at 23-16. The Majors closed the half on a 12-4 run and led 28-27 going into the half. Sterling Thomas got off to a hot first half start, pacing the Majors with 11 points and Brandon Allison chipped in six off the bench. 

The see-saw battled continued well on into the second half with neither team able to establish any sort of run to pull away. The Patriots twice led by five points, only to see the Majors roar back over the next few possessions to take the lead. 

The Patriots looked to have had a stronghold on the game after hitting free throws in the waning minutes to grab a 65-58 lead. But the Majors again would have an answer. A pair of Sterling Thomas free throws led to a steal by Murray Kastner and a clutch three by Tully Gilligan to pull the Majors within two. The Patriots split a pair of free throws with six seconds left, setting up Gilligan's game-tying three that fell just short. 

The Majors' defense was brilliant on Patriots leading scorer Darren Houliston. The senior was held eight points below his season average and took just three shots on the afternoon. Offensively, Thomas and Kastner led the charge with 15 and 13 respectfully. Gilligan grabbed seven rebounds to go along with his nine points. As a team, Millsaps dominated the paint outscoring the Patriots 28 to14 and 13 to 6 on second chance opportunities. 

With just one non-conference game remaining, the Majors hit the meat of their conference schedule next. On Friday night the Colonels of Centre College come in for a 9pm tip. The tip time has been pushed back to better accomodate the Centre academic schedule.