by DANVILLE, Ky. – She’Chem Grant (Navajo/MBCI) led the Majors with 16 points off the bench, but Oglethorpe shot an even 50% from the field as a team to knock off Millsaps 80-62 in the quarterfinal round of the SAA tournament on Friday night.
Millsaps ends the season with a 9-17 record overall. The #3 seeded Stormy Petrels advance to the semifinal round with a 15-11 mark on the year.
The teams went back and forth early on, and as has been the case all season the Millsaps defense gave the Majors plenty of chances. Unfortunately midway through the first half Oglethorpe caught fire from beyond the three-point arc. The Stormy Petrels finished the half 8-14 from downtown to take a 41-23 lead at the halftime break. Michael Sullivan led Millsaps with eight first-half points.
In the second half, each time that the Majors appeared poised to make a run, and cut into the deficit Oglethorpe responded offensively to regain control.
Grant played 26 minutes off the bench, and was 7-12 from the field to finish with the 16 points. Senior Sam Kohnke , playing his last game in a Millsaps uniform, finished second in the scoring column with 12 points. He showed relentless hustle on the defensive end of the floor as well, as he picked up a season-high five steals. Kalvin Spikes was the leading rebounder as he pulled down seven boards for the Majors.
Despite tonight’s season-ending loss, there is no doubt that Head Coach Jimmy Smith has this Millsaps program headed in the right direction.
Earlier today Sullivan was named to the All-SAA First-Team. This the first time a Millsaps men’s basketball player has appeared on an all-conference first team since Edrick Montgomery was named First Team All-SCAC in 2007-2008.
Additionally, the nine wins are the most for a Millsaps College men’s basketball team since the 2010-2011 season, and the six conference wins are the most since the 2009-2010 season.
