February 3, 2007

JACKSON -- After a six point win against the visitors from Southwestern on Friday night put Millsaps in first place in the conference standings, the Majors fell just short on Saturday, battling Trinity down to the wire in a game that featured 12 ties, 15 lead changes and eventually a 54-53 Tigers win.

The dynamic duo of juniors Edrick Montgomery and Rodney Rogan took over on Friday night against Southwestern, combining for 46 points (16-of-18 from the charity stripe), 15 rebounds, five steals and two blocks in the Majors’ 71-65 victory.

Despite shooting only 27 percent from beyond the arc in the first half, Millsaps (13-8, 8-3 SCAC) held a 35-28 lead at intermission, benefiting from 13 Pirate turnovers and 12 points apiece from both Montgomery and Rogan.

The Majors lead quickly ballooned into a 13-point advantage only two minutes into the second half when sophomore Chris Sanders hit a pair of free throws to put Millsaps on top 45-32.

Millsaps clung on desperately from there, battling through 28 percent shooting from the floor in the second half and relying solely on its free throw shooting ability.

The Majors did a tremendous job getting to the charity stripe and an even better job by making the opportunities count. Millsaps knocked down 18 of 20 free throw attempts in the second half to shoot a remarkable 92.3 percent for the game – good enough for its ninth win in 11 games.

Montgomery continues to have a strong junior campaign, pouring in his sixth double-double with 21 points and 10 boards, while Rogan had a season and game-high 25 points and Lorenzo Bailey chipped in 11.

For Southwestern (9-11, 4-6 SCAC), three different scorers posted double figures. Mike Powell had a team-high 12 points while Ben Schleif added 11 and Anthony Cox had 10.

In Saturday’s weekend finale against the visitors from Trinity University (11-10, 6-5 SCAC), the Majors were outscored 26-12 in the paint and sophomore guard B.J. Moon hit a pair of clutch free throws with 4.8 seconds remaining to lift the Tigers to a series sweep over Millsaps, 54-53.

Trinity took a 34-32 lead into the half when Barrett Koch’s last second heave at the basket from half court somehow found the bottom of the net – a basket that would come back to haunt the Majors in the second.

After Bailey’s jumper put the Majors on top 37-34 at the 18:44 mark, the Tigers quickly put together an 8-2 run to jump back on top 42-39.

With less than two minutes remaining in the game and the Majors holding onto a 53-50 margin, Brandon York delivered a dime to Charles Houston that cut the lead to one with 57 ticks left.

After a Millsaps 30-second timeout allowed head coach Tim Wise to draw up a play, Deonte Oscar’s jumper with 22 seconds remaining fell short, but was grabbed by Montgomery to give the Majors a fresh shot clock.

Seconds later, Friday’s star Rogan was sent to the line to shoot two when he was fouled hard by Mike Gilb – a foul that sent the Millsaps faithful into a frenzy and could have been whistled as a flagrant foul.

Rogan was obviously shaken by the contact, nevertheless he had to step to the charity stripe and make the shots count.

A night after knocking down 9 of 11 free throws to help lead the Majors to 92.3 percent (22-of-24) shooting, Rogan missed both attempts, allowing Houston to grab the defensive rebound and call a timeout.

Millsaps did a great defensive job out of the timeout and forced Trinity out of its offense.
The Tigers, however, were bailed out with 4.8 ticks remaining when Montgomery was whistled for his third foul of the game on a desperation attempt by Moon.

Moon stepped to the line and calmly knocked down a pair to clinch the win and give the Tigers a weekend sweep over Rhodes and Millsaps.

The Majors really struggled from the floor in the second half, only connecting on 8 of 32 attempts (25 percent) from the floor and 1 of 13 3-pointers.

Bailey led all scorers with 16 points on 7 of 14 aim, while Rogan chipped in 15 points, eight rebounds and Montgomery added eight points and 12 boards.

Millsaps will play a stretch of three consecutive road games from Feb. 9-14, traveling to Oglethorpe, Sewanee and non-conference opponent Wesley College (Miss.).

The Majors will then return home for their final regular season game of the year, playing host to Rhodes College at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17.