February 11, 2007

SEWANEE, Tenn. -- Millsaps earned a pair of conference road wins this weekend and improved to 15-8 overall and 10-3 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, rallying from a 16-point first half deficit on Friday to top Oglethorpe 78-74 and scoring a season-high 93 points in a 13-point win over Sewanee on Sunday afternoon.

With the sweep, the Majors end their conference road campaign with a 6-1 record, only the fourth time since Millsaps joined the SCAC (1991-92 season) that they have finished with a winning road record.

The three previous instances in 2000-01, 1995-96 and 1994-95 under former head coach John Stroud, the Majors earned a berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Sophomore Chris Sanders and junior Edrick Montgomery took center stage on Friday night, with Sanders pouring in a game and career-high 20 points and Montgomery adding his seventh double-double (16 points, 19 rebounds) of the year.

Millsaps and Oglethorpe were deadlocked at 44-44 heading into the locker room, with both teams shooting the ball well from the floor and from beyond the arc. The Majors shot a solid 55 percent in the period (7-of-12 from 3-point range) while the Stormy Petrels shot a combined 43 percent (5-of-14 from beyond the arc).

But it was the Majors will and determination that earned them the win at the end, battling back from a 16-point first half deficit and closing the game on a 14-5 run, capped off by a pair of Lorenzo Bailey 3-pointers with just under 1:09 remaining in the game.

Sanders led the way with 20 points on 8 of 10 aim (4-for-6 from beyond the arc) and seven rebounds, with Bailey's 17 and Montgomery's 16 rounding out the scorers in double figures. Rodney Rogan also had a strong game for the Majors, with nine points, six rebounds and a season and game-high seven assists.

For Oglethorpe (13-9, 6-5 SCAC), the loss snapped a 5-game winning streak, despite four different Stormy Petrels in double figures.

Ahmad Kareem Shaheed led the way with 15 points and 15 boards, with Eric Dickinson adding 18, Andrew Tulowitsky chipping in 15 and Terry Bailey pouring in 14 points and a team high six dimes.

In Sunday's weekend finale at Sewanee, Millsaps turned a 37-35 halftime deficit into a 93-80 win, dropping a season-high 58 points on the Tigers in the second half alone.

The Majors only made it to the free throw line three times in the first period and struggled from beyond the arc, only knocking down 3 of 14 attempts, while the home team benefited from 50 percent shooting from 3-point land (6-for-12).

But whatever fourth-year head coach Tim Wise said in the locker room at halftime worked, as Millsaps caught fire in the second half, connecting on 72 percent (18-of-25) shooting from the floor and 64 percent (7-for-11) of its attempts from beyond the arc.

After being sidelined by an injury in the Trinity game and receiving minimal playing time in Friday's win over Oglethorpe, Allen Odum came off the bench in the second half and shot, well, plainly put, lights out.

Odum, who didn't play a minute in the first half, scored a game-high 18 points on 5 of 7 shooting from the floor (3-of-5 from beyond the arc) in only 12 minutes. He also knocked down 5 of 6 attempts from the charity stripe and picked up three defensive rebounds.

Millsaps benefited from all five of its starters in double figures, plus Odum, as did Sewanee.

Montgomery fell a rebound shy of his eighth double-double of the year, while Chad Songy made the best of his fourth start of the season with 13 points.

The Majors travel to Wesley College (Miss.) on Wednesday, Feb. 14, to close out their non-conference schedule and two-game set with the Warriors. Game time is slated for a 3:30 p.m. start.

Millsaps will then return home for its final regular season game of 2006-07 on Saturday, Feb. 17, playing host to conference foe Rhodes College at 5 p.m. before making plans for the SCAC Tournament in Memphis Feb. 23-25.