January 21, 2008

JACKSON – Trailing the final 17:33 of regulation on its home court against the visitors from Sewanee, Millsaps senior guard Lorenzo Bailey hit a driving, 5-foot jumper with 2.8 seconds left to lift the host Majors to a thrilling 76-75 win – their 12th-straight overall.

Ranked No. 23 in last week's D3hoops.com poll, the win for Millsaps kept them just 1 of 4 teams with an undefeated record in Division III play and helped them start 7-0 for the first time in league history dating back to the inaugural 1991-92 season.

For Millsaps (15-1, 7-0 SCAC), junior guard Chris Sanders led all scorers with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting, whereas Bailey added 16, Chad Songy added 13 and Rodney Rogan had 11 to go along with a career-high eight assists and two blocks.

Bradley Pierson led Sewanee (5-10, 0-6 SCAC) with 16 points – 11 in the second – before he fouled out with 5:17 remaining, while Casey Berry (13), Kenton Coleman (12), Gary Grizzle (11) and Ben Pursell (10) all notched double figure scoring for the Tigers.

The streaking Majors, who squandered a 13-point first half lead, won despite being outrebounded 43-20 and allowing Sewanee to shoot 50 percent from the field for the game.

The determing factor in the game was turnovers, as Millsaps committed a season-low six (two in the second half) while forcing 21 and scoring 21 points off those turnovers.

With 2:43 left in regulation and a five-point deficit, 75-71, staring them in the face, Bailey calmly scored the final five points of the game for Millsaps on a 3-point basket with 2:23 left and off a driving, 5-foot jumper with 2.8 seconds remaining to send the crowd into a frenzy.

"Coach [Wise] called 'Top' which was designed specially for me," Bailey said. "It was one of our regular game-winning shots designed for a 3-pointer but I wanted to get the best shot I could. I had hit a couple 2s before that so i drove and kept looking to dish but Rodney [Rogan] told me to take the shot no matter what ... I hit it for the win."

After a turnover with 43 seconds left, the Majors got the ball back with 10 seconds left when Sewanee's Pursell was whistled for a 3-second violation under the basket. The junior pulled down his own rebound and awaited a Millsaps foul that never came, resulting in the turnover.

Millsaps will hit the road this weekend for a crucial two games against No. 20 Centre College (Friday) and DePauw University (Sunday). The 15-1 Majors will face off with the 14-1 Colonels on Friday night at 8 p.m. in one of the most anticipated matchups in Division III.

Game Notes:
Bailey hit the 1,000-point mark in his career (1,008) to become the third Major this season to accomplish the feat. With every 3-pointer attempted and made, he adds to his Millsaps career-record. He is also closing in on third all-time on the career steals list with 146 (170).