JACKSON, Miss. – The Millsaps men's basketball team used a full-team effort to down Birmingham-Southern, 84-69 in the Southern Athletic Association opener inside the Hangar Dome on Sunday.
 
Millsaps (2-7, 1-0 SAA) forced 19 turnovers and used a 24-9, points-off-turnover edge to its advantage. The Majors also controlled the paint battle (52-38) and showed superior bench depth (23-11).
 
Birmingham-Southern (3-4, 0-1 SAA) was outshot 46.6 percent (34-of-73) to 40.7 percent (24-of-59) by Millsaps.
 
Sophomore Rodney Phillips Jr. tallied 18 points and a career-high 12 rebounds to go alongside four assists and three steals. Senior Aaron Ursin netted a season-high 17 points and added six boards.
 
Sophomore Dakota Gasca performed well with 13 points and a career-best six assists, while junior Drew Roth recorded nine points and three rebounds.
 
The freshman duo of Cameron Lumar (10 points, five rebounds) and Devin Harris (seven points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals) also were all-around strong.
 
Midway through the first half the teams would trade the lead four times on four straight possessions. However, Roth would give the Majors the lead with an emphatic dunk over two guarding defenders. His throw down would make it an 18-17 game with 11:47 on the clock and provide the final lead exchange of the contest.
 
Millsaps later utilized a 10-0 run and built a 16-point cushion, which was punctuated by back-to-back Phillips Jr. and Roth 3-pointers. BSC would close the deficit, but trail 50-40 at intermission.
 
The teams traded baskets the duration of the second half, which saw the Panthers only get within seven points on the scoreboard halfway into the action. Ursin, Gasca and Lumar would provide resistance in a crucial 6-0 run to regain momentum with 11:07 to play.
 
The Majors continued to answer each BSC make and finished with an 84-69 triumph.
 
Millsaps will now travel to Shreveport, La. to face Centenary College in a rematch. First tip is slated for 6 p.m. on Tuesday with live video and live stats available at gomajors.com.


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