JACKSON, Miss. – The Millsaps men's basketball team brushed off Rhodes, 82-64 on Saturday inside the Hangar Dome. The Majors recognized seniors Drew Roth and Nicholas Ughovwa alongside graduate TJ Hogan for their commitment dedicated to their teammates and coaches throughout their Millsaps careers.
Junior Dakota Gasca led all scoring with 23 points while adding four steals, four rebounds and two assists. The West Monroe, La., native also shot 7-of-10 from the floor and 9-of-11 at the free-throw line in 33 minutes on the court.
Junior Caleb Kent recorded 16 points, seven rebounds, two steals and one assist. The guard shot 7-of-14 from the floor.
Ughovwa finished with 12 points, six rebounds, one assist and two blocks on defense.
Sophomore Cameron Lumar registered 10 points and three assists. The Hahnville, La., product also tied a career-high with five steals on defense.
Junior Mack Gorton finished with nine points and seven rebounds; he also shot 3-of-4 from field goal range.
The Majors dominated the paint with a 46-18 scoring advantage. Millsaps (4-18, 2-7 SAA) also shot an impressive 53.7 percent (29-of-54) and did damage in the fast break (16-3).
Rhodes (12-11, 5-5 SAA) did outscore the Major bench, 32-21 but were held to 31.4 percent offensively (22-of-70).
In the opening of the first half, a Hogan (seven points, two rebounds) jumper gave the Majors their first lead before the Lynx moved ahead, 5-2 following a made three-pointer behind the arc.
Moments later, Gasca made a layup, creating a 10-10 draw between the teams.
Kent's steal and fast-break layup put the Majors back ahead on offense. Ughovwa followed by registering his first block on defense inside the paint.
With 8:31 remaining on the clock in the first half, Kent threw down a two-handed slam dunk to get the crowd on their feet.
Millsaps playing hard on both sides of the court extended their lead by eight points to 32-24 after Gasca made a pair of free throws from the charity stripe. Rhodes later shortened their deficit by three following a trey.
In the first half, the Majors shot 50 percent (15-of-30) from field goal range and heated up to 58.33 percent (14-of-24) in the second half.
A Hogan jumper extended the Majors' lead by 10 points ahead of Roth sending back on opponent's shot on defense.
Gorton's nifty three-pointer helped the Majors surpass the Lynx, 49-35 with 14:35 to play.
Freshman Matheus Siqueira saw his first points of the contest to give Millsaps a 17-point lead ahead, 57-40.
In the closing minutes of the second half, Kent threw down a putback dunk to rock the Hangar Dome as Millsaps continued to dominate their opponents, 67-45.
An Ughowwa layup assisted by Lumar off his steal gave Millsaps their largest lead of the contest by 24 points at 69-45.
Leading by 17 points, Roth rose up for an alley-oop dunk off a Lumar feed to soon put their fans back on their feet.
As the matchup concluded, Rhodes continued to struggle finding points, shooting 5.6 percent (1-of-18) from beyond the arc in the second half and fell to the Majors, 82-64 on Saturday.
Millsaps will host its regular-season home finale against Hendrix on Sunday, starting at 3 p.m. inside the Hanger Dome. Live video and live stats will be available at gomajors.com.
To keep up to date with everything surrounding the Millsaps College men's basketball program 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.
