JACKSON, Miss. -- After playing four straight games away from Jackson, the Millsaps College men's basketball team returned home on Friday night for a Southern Athletic Association (SAA) matchup with the Stormy Petrels of Oglethorpe University. 

It was a tightly contested contest all night long with the lead changing hands several times, and neither team able to pull away by more than just a few possessions. 

In the end, the Majors made several more plays down the stretch to secure the 80-74 win.

With the victory Millsaps has now equaled last year's win total. They have an overall record of 12-7, and currently sit at fifth place in the SAA standings with a 4-4 mark. 

The loss drops Oglethorpe to 11-8 overall and 5-3 in the SAA.

How It Happened
The Majors were locked in from the opening tip, scoring the game's first eight points on a pair of three-pointers by Ryan McLaurin and a thunderous slam dunk from Kalvin Spikes.

After the Stormy Petrels finally got on the board, Millsaps responded with another dunk from Spikes and the Majors led 10-2 at the first media timeout. 

Oglethorpe answered back with a quick 5-0 run to make it a one possession game. 

A few minutes later back-to-back steals and fastbreak layups gave the Stormy Petrels their first lead of the night at 16-15. They stretched it out to seven points before Millsaps battled back. 

A layup by Spikes, combined with three-pointers from Saxton Becker and Dillon Young had the Majors back out in front at 24-23. 

Millsaps went on to close the half strong, with Joshua Miller converting on a tough two-point opportunity to make it a 45-38 advantage at halftime. 

The Majors never trailed in the second half. They opened with five quick points to push their lead out to double-digits, but Oglethorpe had an answer. 

On two separate occasions the Stormy Petrels tied the game. Once at 64-64, and again at 69-69 with just 2:07 left to play in the game. 

However, Millsaps closed out the night outscoring Oglethorpe 11-5 to secure the 80-74 win.

Notables
Kaleb Jenkins and Van Pelt each scored 16 points to lead the Majors offense. Both players pulled down eight rebounds, while Van Pelt had three blocks on the defensive end of the floor. 

Millsaps outrebounded Oglethorpe 51-34, and limited the Stormy Petrels to 4-21 shooting from three-point range in the second half. 

What's Next?
The Majors will be back in action on Sunday afternoon when they host Berry College. Tip off from the Hangar Dome is set for 3:00 p.m.