ATLANTA- The Millsaps Majors forced overtime against Oglethorpe but fell to the now 17-2 Stormy Petrels 67-64 in the extra frame.
Tully Gilligan led the Majors with 20 points and eight rebounds while Marc Robertson chipped in 18, including four threes in the loss.
Gilligan and Robertson got the Majors off to a quick start, combining for the team's first 12 points as Millsaps raced out to an early 12-5 lead. Robertson drained a pair of threes in the early going to pace the offense. Oglethorpe regrouped and would take a brief lead at 18-16 midway through the half. A pull-up jumper by Dustin Aubert quickly tied the game, then the junior cashed in a breakout layup off a Mac McElveen steal to give the Majors the lead back. A Petrel timeout didn't do much to slow down the Majors who took advantage of a pair of Petrel turnovers to build an eight-point lead at 29-21. The Majors would lead 31-25 at the half.
Robertson stayed hot in the second half, draining a pair of early threes as the Majors built a 12-point lead at 37-25. A Tully Gilligan steal and following free throws stretched the lead to 14 at 41-27, three minutes into the half. The Majors held off an 8-2 run by the Petrels, McElveen hit a jumper midway through the half to keep the lead in double digits at 47-37.
The Petrels had another run in them, mounting a 13-4 attack to trim the Millsap lead to one at 51-50. A layup and dunk by Mac McElveen kept the Petrels at bay as the lead remained steady at four points with just three minutes left in regulation. However, the Petrels would live at the foul line down the stretch, outscoring the Majors 5-1 over the final three minutes with all the points coming from the charity stripe. The teams would head to overtime tied at 57.
Oglethorpe would grab the early momentum in the extra frame, scoring six of the first seven points to take a 63-58 lead. A pair of Gilligan layups would trim that lead to one with two minutes left. After the teams traded a pair of empty possessions, Oglethorpe went to work once again at the free throw line. The Petrels would hit four of six free throws down the stretch to maintain a one-possession lead. Millsaps would get the ball back, down three with six seconds left but a McElveen three wouldn't fall and the Majors dropped another heartbreaker.
The Majors now sit at 3-13 and 0-7 in conference play. They will look to end a six-game slide on Sunday at Berry, the tip is set for 2pm central/3pm eastern.
A few notes from the game
Oglethorpe out rebounded Millsaps 50-39 but the Majors held a 10-6 edge on second-chance points...Millsaps lived close to the basket, outscoring the Petrels 36-24 in the paint...The Majors turned 15 Petrel turnovers into 17 points...Mac McElveen had 11 points while logging a game-high 44 minutes...Oglethorpe had four players in doublefigures, led by Romello Bates with 16.
Here is video of Mac McElveen's dunk from the game
