ATLANTA – The Millsaps men's basketball challenged Oglethorpe University but fell, 74-69 at the Dorough Filed House on Friday.
Junior Caleb Kent led the Majors with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds. The Madison, Miss., native shot 8-of-14 from the floor with one assist and a steal.
Senior Drew Roth finished with 13 points, five rebounds, a steal and one assist. He shot 6-of-12 from field goal range.
Sophomore Cameron Lumar (four rebounds, two steals, one assist) and junior Dakota Gasca (five assists, four steals) both registered 11 points. Gasca also set a career-high with nine rebounds.
Millsaps outscored Oglethorpe (15-9, 7-5 SAA), 44-24 from points inside the paint. The Stormy Petrels bench surpassed the Majors, 24-15. Millsaps was held to 10.7 percent from three-point range (3-of-28).
In the opening minutes of the first half, Kent's layup in the paint provided Millsaps with their initial two points.
Moments later, senior Nicholas Ughovwa (eight rebounds, one block) completed a layup, putting the Majors ahead by three points.
Both teams played physically, trading off points until Gasca stole the ball and scored a fast-break layup, giving Millsaps their largest lead of the first half by eight at 21-13.
The teams continued to play hard until the final minutes of the first half, with Millsaps now leading with 1:59 minutes on the clock. An Ughovwa layup gave Millsaps a two-point lead.
Oglethorpe later banked a three-pointer moments before the buzzer to reclaim their advantage at 30-28.
In the second half, the Stormy Petrels established their largest lead of 10 points at 49-39 with 12:18 minutes remaining on the clock.
Millsaps reduced their deficit to three points at 59-56 following Roth and Kent layups, Gasca free throws and freshman Samuel Holt block.
A layup by Oglethorpe soon put the team ahead by eight points, 70-62.
Gasca followed with a three-pointer and with 33 seconds remaining until the end of the second half, Lumar stole the ball and scored a layup, cutting the Majors deficit back down to three points.
A pair of free throws kept the Stormy Petrels ahead, 72-67 with 20 seconds left on the clock.
Graduate TJ Hogan (six points, seven rebounds) netted a jumper to narrow the contest down to three points only six seconds later.
However, Oglethorpe secured the victory over the Majors with a final dunk, ending the game at 74-69 on Friday.
The Majors will be back in action at Berry in the Southern Athletic Assocation regular-season finale in Mount Berry, Ga., beginning at 2 p.m. CT on Sunday. Live video and live stats will be provided at gomajors.com.
To keep updated with everything surrounding the Millsaps men's basketball program this season follow the Majors on X and Instagram, like Millsaps Majors Athletics on Facebook or visit gomajors.com.
Founded in Jackson, Mississippi in 1890, Millsaps College is a national liberal arts college dedicated to academic excellence, open inquiry and free expression, the exploration of faith to inform vocation and the innovative shaping of the social, economic and cultural progress of our region. Consistently ranked as one of the best values in higher education, Millsaps has been praised by Colleges That Change Lives, The Princeton Review, Forbes Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, The John Templeton Foundation, and The Fiske Guide to Colleges.
