JACKSON- The Millsaps Majors furious comeback fell short as a pair of late free throws from Birmingham Southern's John Crain proved to be enough in a 67-64 loss in the Hangar Dome on Saturday.
The Majors made an 11-point Panther lead with under five minutes disappear, leading to the late game drama. After the free throws with six seconds left, the Majors drew up a game-tying play for sharp shooting Marc Robertson but the ball got deflected and the Majors never got a game-tying shot off.
The result doesn't take away a gutsy performance that saw the Majors get 22 points from Tully Gilligan and out rebound the Panthers 29-26.
Millsaps withstood an early game surge from Birmingham Southern. The Panthers hit their first six shots en route to building a 16-6 lead just four minutes into the contest. The Majors answered with a 9-0 run of their own, paced by Gilligan and Robertson who scored seven of the nine points.
The game would settle down from there, with neither team able to build a lead bigger than six points. Mac McElveen hit a jump shot to end a mini Panther run, keeping it a four point game at 31-27. Gilligan beat the buzzer with a driving lay up, sending the Majors into the locker room down just four at 33-29.
A steal and score from Robertson got the Majors within two just moments into the second half. The Panthers responded in a big way, mounting a 16-4 run to take a 49-35 lead after a Larry Thomas three pointer.
Ryan Detillieu got the Majors' comeback started with a three to cut the lead to five at 49-44. BSC was quick to get the lead back out to double digits, where the lead would stay for the next several minutes.
Gilligan scored five straight points, including a three-point play with 4:30 left to get the lead back down to seven. McElveen got another steal and score followed by another Gilligan lay-in. This capped a quick 7-0 run to cut the Panther lead to three with 3:30 left.
Dustin Aubert scored four straight points out of a Panther time out as the Majors grabbed the lead at 62-61.The Majors would then split a pair of trips to the foul line on their next two possessions while the Panthers converted a pair of lay-ins. It was 65-64 Panthers with six seconds to go. Crain made his two free throws and the game-tying attempt by the Majors went by the wayside.
The loss sends the Majors to 3-10 overall and 0-4 in SAA play. The Panthers improved to 8-5 and 2-2 in conference. The Majors will look to rebound next Friday when the Rhodes Lynx come to town for an 8pm tip.
A few notes from the game
Ryan Berger had a game-high nine rebounds to go with six points...The Majors held an 18-9 advantage on points off turnovers and 32-26 on points in the paint...BSC shot 43 percent from three (10-23)...BSC had three players in double figures led by Griffin Schamp's 15...
