JACKSON, Miss. -- The Millsaps College men's basketball team wrapped up the opening weekend of Southern Athletic Association (SAA) play by hosting the Stormy Petrels of Oglethorpe University on Sunday afternoon. 

The Majors led 42-38 at halftime, and outscored Oglethorpe by 16 points in the second half to run away with the 92-72 win. 

Millsaps improves to 10-4 overall and 2-1 in league play. They are locked in a three-way tie for second place in the conference standings.

The Stormy Petrels fall to 7-7 and 1-2 in the SAA. 

How It Happened
The first half was very close with neither team having any more than a two possession lead. When the Stormy Petrels went up 19-14 on a three-pointer with 11:36 left in the half it marked their largest lead of the half and the game. 

On the next two Millsaps possessions Saxton Becker drilled a three and followed it up with a jumper to tie things up at 19-19.

After the Majors' defense forced a missed shot, Michael Sullivan made good on a shot from beyond the arc to cap off an 8-0 run and give Millsaps a 22-19 lead.

The two teams went back and forth trading baskets, until Oglethorpe was able to fight back and reclaim the lead at 35-34 on a jumper with just 2:43 left before halftime. From that point the Majors closed the half on an 8-3 run to take the 42-38 lead to the locker room. Shooting a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line in the final two minutes helped power the run for Millsaps. 

Oglethorpe came out of the break with a quick three, a defensive stop and a layup to move ahead 43-42 still with 19:20 to play in the game. That would be the final lead for the Stormy Petrels on the afternoon. When Sullivan put the Majors up 45-43 they never looked back.

Millsaps really started to pull way midway through the half when they scored 9 points on three straight possessions. Buck Blanz and Becker made good on a pair of shots from distance, and Joshua Miller drove the lane for a layup, drew a foul and made good on the 'and one' free throw for the old fashioned three point play. 

Miller's 'and one' put the Majors up 16, and their lead never fell below double-digits the rest of the afternoon. 

Oglethorpe got it down to 11 points on a three with 4:26 left, but Millsaps closed the game on a 12-3 run to capture the win. 
 
Key Contributors
For the second consecutive game Sullivan led the Majors in scoring. He finished with 16 points on 5-12 shooting from the field. He also led the Majors with a season-high 8 assists. Becker was on fire from behind the arc again, scoring 15 points thanks in part to 3-4 shooting from distance. Cameron Carvelli finished with 12 points, and Miller ended with 11 to round out the double-digit scorers for Millsaps.

The Majors, led by 6 boards from James Turner, outrebounded Oglethorpe 40-22. Additionally, today was a matchup of the two best field-goal percentage defenses in the conference, and Millsaps came out on top in that category as well, holding the Stormy Petrels to 43.4% while the Majors shot 56.4% from the field. 

What's Next?
Millsaps hits the road next weekend for a two-game SAA trip against Hendrix and Rhodes. Friday night's tip off in Conway, Arkansas against Hendrix is set for 8:00pm.