JACKSON, Miss. -- The Millsaps College men's basketball team returned home on Friday night for a Southern Athletic Association (SAA) matchup with the Colonels of Centre College. 

The Colonels jumped out to a 14 point lead at halftime. The Majors opened up the second half and got it down to 12, but Centre responded with a quick 7-0 run and never let their lead slip below 15 the rest of the way en route to an 84-55 win.

The loss drops Millsaps to 10-7 overall and 2-4 in the conference play. Centre improves to 14-3 overall and 5-1 in the league. 

How It Happened
After Centre scored first on a jumper, the Majors answered with a three-pointer from James Turner to grab an early 3-2 advantage. Unfortunately, that would prove to be the last lead of the game for Millsaps. 

The two teams fought back and forth in the early portion of the half, and a three from Ryan McLaurin got the Majors to within a possession at 17-14 with 10:11 remaining in the opening half. From that point the Colonels outscored Millsaps by 11 points which allowed them to take a 41-27 lead to the locker room.

Despite being outscored by double-digits down the stretch, it was the Majors who had some momentum going into the break. Millsaps closed the half on an 8-0 run thanks to some strong defense, and solid shooting from the free throw line.

To start the second half the Majors picked right back up where they left off as Kalvin Spikes made good on a jumper off the assist from McLaurin to get things going. Unfortunately Centre answered with a quick 9-1 run to push their lead out to 20. 

A few times throughout the early part of the second half the Majors got to within striking distance, but seemingly each time the Colonels were able to respond, usually with a three-pointer, to hold Millsaps off. Centre ended the night shooting 39.5% from beyond the arc, making 15 of their 38 attempts.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, both coaches emptied their respective benches as Centre picked up the 84-55 win. 

Key Contributors
McLaurin led the Majors with 11 points on 4-7 shooting from the field. He also had a pair of steals on the defensive end of the floor. Justin Van Pelt topped the team in rebounds with 5, while freshman Newlon Gillihan had a team-high 2 assists.

What's Next?
Millsaps will be back at home Sunday afternoon when they host Sewanee. Tip off from the Hangar Dome is set for 3:00 pm.