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November 19, 2006
JACKSON -- The Millsaps men’s basketball team started off the 2006-07 campaign strong this past weekend, downing the visitors from Pensacola Christian 93-62 on Friday and topping Rust College 79-69 Saturday.
Millsaps (2-0) proved to be no match for the Eagles on Friday, controlling the game from the opening tip and never trailing the entire game.
Lorenzo Bailey scored his and the Majors’ first basket of the season just 12 seconds in, hitting a mid-range jumper to put Millsaps on top early, 2-0. After Paul Baird’s layup for the Eagles tied the game at 2-2, the Majors caught fire, scoring 16 unanswered points to take an 18-2 lead.
The Majors lead never fell below 14 the remainder of the half, as they took a commanding 58-24 cushion into the locker room.
Millsaps shot a solid 64.5 percent (21-of-30) from the floor in the first period, including 10 different scorers getting at least a basket. Rodney Rogan and Deonte Oscar paved the way for the Majors offense in the first half, as Rogan had 15 and Oscar chipped in with 12.
The Majors cooled off a bit in the second half and held on to their 34-point margin, only shooting 35.3 percent (12-of-35) from the floor and going nine-deep on the bench.
The lead never fell below 32 in the second half as Millsaps cruised to its first win of the season with a 93-62 victory over Pensacola Christian.
Rogan, Oscar, Edrick Montgomery and Chad Songy all scored in double digits for the Majors, while Chris Ingle led the way on the boards with seven.
Millsaps as a team had a solid all-around game, forcing 21 Eagle turnovers and only turning the ball over nine times of its own. They also did a great job spreading the ball around the court and being unselfish, as they picked up 21 total assists, led by Rogan and Songy with four apiece.
For the game, the Majors shot a combined 48.5 percent (32-of-66), including a remarkable 52 percent (13-of-25) from beyond the arc.
The Eagles were led by Ryan Vanderboegh’s 15 points on 4-of-9 shooting, while Baird and Joshua Hershberger each chipped in with 10. Micah Bowman did the dirty work on the boards, snagging seven rebounds and picking up a team-high four blocks.
Millsaps wasted little time celebrating on Friday, turning around to win its second-consecutive home game over the Rust College Bearcats 79-69 Saturday evening to improve to 2-0 on the season.
The Majors broke a 36-36 tie at halftime, as Rogan broke out of a 2-for-11 slump in the first half to shoot a perfect 6-of-6 in the second period, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc.
Rust jumped out to quick three point margin minutes into the second half when DaWit Gabrakidan nailed all three free throws attempts after he was fouled behind the arc.
The lead wouldn’t last for long for the Bearcats, as Montgomery hit a jumper and Rogan added a three-pointer that gave Millsaps a slight 44-42 lead.
The Majors never looked back from there, stretching the lead to as many as 12 and not allowing Rust to get within six points the remainder of the game.
Rogan led all scorers with 20 points and 10 rebounds to record his first double-double of the season, while Montgomery added his first double-double of the season with 15 points and a team-high 12 rebounds.
The Majors played their second-straight game of unselfish ball, dishing out 18 assists led by Bailey, Songy and Oscar who had four apiece. They also shot 43.3 percent (29-of-67) from the floor, including a combined 10-of-24 (41.7 percent) from beyond the arc.
Four different Bearcats scored in double digits for Rust, with Michael Taylor and Ryan Rodriguez having 13 and Darnell Toy and Marc Phillips adding 12 and 11. Taylor also led the way on the boards with eight.
Millsaps will put its unblemished 2-0 record to the test Tuesday night, facing off with cross-town rival Belhaven College at Rugg Arena. Game time is slated for a 7 p.m. start.
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