JACKSON, MS- The Millsaps Majors men's basketball team needed an extra five minutes, but pulled away in overtime for a 89-78 win over Centenary on Friday night. 

A fast-paced, entertaining game had a wild end to regulation. Tully Gilligan stole a pass and set up Mac McElveen with a fast-break lay-up to give the Majors a 69-67 lead with seconds to go. The Gents responded with an 18-foot runner from Brooks Pawsat as time expired. A brief huddle by the officials confirmed the buzzer beater and sent the game to overtime. The Majors did not let themselves get caught up in the fray, out scoring Centenary 20-9 in the extra frame. 

The game was nip-and-tuck for the entire 45 minutes. Neither team was able to build more than a three-point lead for most of the first half. A Murray Kastner three with two minutes left, gave the Majors the game's largest lead at the time at 28-24. Gilligan would beat the buzzer with a floater after he got his own rebound off a missed free throw. The jumper gave the Majors a 32-26 lead at the break. 

The Gentlemen wouldn't let the lead last long, scoring five points in the first minute of the second half to cut the Major lead to one. A Pawsat three gave the Gents a one-point lead with 16 minutes to go. The Majors held their poise and composure as threes by Marc Robertson and Ryan Berger gave the Majors a 44-39 lead. The Majors would drain 13 triples on the night on 25 tries. 

The three was the Majors' answer to any Centenary run on Friday. Kastner drained a three and popped in a pair of free throws to grow the Major lead to eight with five minutes left. The Majors did a great job on Centenary's Johnathan Blount, who came into the game averaging 23 points a contest. Blount began to take over briefly down the stretch, routinely getting to the foul line and eating into the Millsaps' lead. A pair of his free throws and an assist helped to cut the lead to one at 64-63 with 2:30 left. However, Blount was held to 16 points on just 3-10 shooting for the night. 

A lay-in with one minute left tied the game for the Gentlemen and helped set up the wild finish to regulation. The Majors used a Robertson three to jump start a 7-0 run to start the overtime for Millsaps. The Majors' defense rose to the occasion in the extra frame, holding Centenary without a field goal for the first three minutes while building a 10-point lead. The Majors forced Centenary into foul situations, then iced the game at the line. 

It was a balanced effort for the Majors who easily hit their high-point mark of the season. The Majors had three in double figures, led by Robertson's 19 as well as three more players with nine points. Tully Gilligan had another stat-filling night with nine points, seven assists, four rebounds and four steals. 

The Majors will host Centenary and Rust, who will play on Saturday at 6pm in the Hangar Dome. The Majors will wrap up their New Year's Classic with Rust on Sunday at 1pm. 

A few notes from the game...

The win snaps the Majors six-game slide...The Majors owned a 22-13 edge in points off turnovers and a 13-11 edge in second-chance points...Centenary held a 32-24 advantage in points in the paint...The game had seven ties and 20 lead changes