MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Millsaps men's basketball team faced DePauw University for the first time ever, but fell just short, 79-70 inside the Mallory Gymnasium on Saturday.
 
Freshman Cameron Lumar tied a game-high 17 points, while adding six boards. Sophomores Rodney Phillips Jr. (14 points, three rebounds) and Dakota Gasca (10 points, five assists) both reached double figures in scoring as well.
 
Junior Nicholas Ughovwa added eight points, seven boards and two blocks in the Rhodes College Classic clash.
 
The Majors were disciplined with the ball and held an 11-2 edge in points-off turnovers. Millsaps also used its bench depth to stay in the game (27-15 points from the bench).
 
However, the Tigers controlled the paint (40-26) outshot the Majors 43.1 percent (25-of-58) to 38 percent (27-of-71).
 
The opening half would feature four lead changes. Phillips Jr., sophomore RJ VanBeber and freshman Noah Babineaux would connect with three-pointers to give Millsaps an early 11-10 advantage in a back-and-forth start.
 
Both teams remained close and a Gasca trey cut the deficit to 23-22 with six minutes remaining in the first half. After a mini DePauw surge, Phillips Jr. used a trey to make it a 29-27 Tiger lead moments later.

DePauw closed the half on a 6-0 run to build a 35-27 cushion at intermission.
 
The Tigers extended their run to 11-0 following a pair of makes to begin the second half. Millsaps would then use another three-pointer to battle back with a VanBeber shot, making it a 48-42 contest with 13:36 remaining.
 
The Tiger advantage would track back up to 14 points, and shrink as close as five points minutes later. However, the opponents would trade baskets the rest of the game allowing DePauw to escape with a 79-70 decision.
 
Millsaps will now return home to face Centenary College on Sunday, Nov. 26. Game start is scheduled for 4 p.m. with live video and live stats available at gomajors.com.


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