It was a good day to be a Buff! Milligan men, women take AAC titles
Published 5:51 pm Monday, March 3, 2025
Ron Marvel/Star Correspondent Jaycie Jenkins moves the ball downcourt in first-period play.
Ron Marvel/Star Correspondent Jenna Hare takes a hard foul in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
Ron Marvel/Star Correspondent Junior Buff Semaj Clark elevates and scores on a mid-range jumper.
Ron Marvel/Star Correspondent Lauren Longmire powers to the bucket for a score.
Ron Marvel/Star Correspondent Point guard Lina Lyon pushes the ball up the floor.
Ron Marvel/Star Correspondent Milligan women's head coach Kylie Greer is all smiles as she cuts down the net after claiming her first AAC title.
Ron Marvel/Star Correspondent Senior Sam Gold's name is announced during pregame festivities.
Ron Marvel/Star Correspondent The Buffs control the tip as the AAC championship game gets underway.
Ron Marvel/Star Correspondent McCaskill Rivers takes a hop step as he attempts to create space off the dribble.
Ron Marvel/Star Correspondent Guard Finn McClure looks to clog up the lane as the Royals move upcourt.
Ron Marvel/Star Correspondent Hadje Tamba brings the crowd to its feet with a monstrous dunk.
Ron Marvel/Star Correspondent Redshirt freshman guard Luke Lentz moves the ball around the perimeter.
Ron Marvel/Star Correspondent Milligan in possession.
Ron Marvel/Star Correspondent The Milligan Buffaloes take the AAC title and claim an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships.
Ron Marvel/Star Correspondent The Milligan Lady Buffs take the AAC title and claim an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships.
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KINGSPORT — With two conference titles on the line Saturday, both the men’s and women’s teams took similar paths with comeback wins. With the victories, both teams claimed automatic bids to the NAIA National Championships. It marked the first time since 1999 that both the men’s and women’s teams won conference championships on the same day.
Men’s — Milligan 67, Johnson 64
The game was tight in the first half as the teams went back and forth, going blow for blow and shot for shot. With 1:54 left on the clock in the first half and the two teams knotted at 33-all, Johnson responded by going on a 9-2 run to go into the locker room up 40-35.
Milligan came out of the break looking to control tempo and had some success, cutting the Royals’ lead to one point when McCaskill Rivers drove the paint for a layup at the 18:49 mark of the second half. However, the Royals responded by pushing their lead to eight points when Dallas Carbaugh connected on a 3-pointer at the 11:13 mark.
The Buffs battled back but still found themselves in a deficit for most of the second half. Three-point shooting seemed to hold Milligan back, as they shot just 3-for-13 for the game. With 3:40 left, Rivers found Jayme Peay for a dunk, bringing the crowd to its feet and giving the Buffs some much-needed momentum. Milligan grabbed the lead with 1:38 remaining when Peay hit two free throws, making the score 64-63. Senior Sam Gold got a dunk of his own with 53 seconds left, and the Buffs held the Royals at bay to claim the win.
Defensively, the Buffs held the Royals to just two points over the final 3:20.
Tournament MVP McCaskill Rivers scored 23, and Elijah Bredwood added 11.
After the game, Milligan coach Bill Robinson praised his team’s pledge to defend.
“The guys have made a commitment to defend every possession. A big part of that is our ability to rebound. Mac Rivers and Handje Tamba played great this week. So proud of my guys—this is a special group.”
Women — Milligan 79, Tennessee Wesleyan 75 (OT)
The Lady Buffs ended the Lady Bulldogs’ Cinderella run as a No. 7 seed in the tournament, but by no means was it easy.
“Tennessee Wesleyan has played an amazing tournament; it’s been a lot of fun to watch, but we know we can go on a run with the best of them,” Milligan head coach Kylie Greer said.
Still, the game was an uphill battle as the Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a sizable lead in the first half, going up by as many as 13 points early in the second quarter. But the Lady Buffs started to get their offense on track. Milligan went on an 11-0 run, cutting the lead to two at the 3:43 mark when Jaycie Jenkins found an open Jenna Hare for a 3-pointer. Milligan had its opportunities but still trailed at halftime, down 41-37.
Tennessee Wesleyan pushed its lead to nine in the second half—eight with just six minutes left—making for some tense moments for the Milligan faithful. But the Lady Buffs had another run in them. Jenkins tied things at 63-all with 2:34 left in regulation, and then Lauren Longmire gave Milligan its first lead when she hit two free throws, making the score 64-63. Jenkins hit two more free throws to push the lead to three with 14 seconds left, but the Lady Bulldogs knocked down a desperation 3-pointer to send the game into overtime.
The Lady Buffs trailed 72-68 in overtime before going on a 9-0 run, making it 77-72 with 14 seconds left. The Lady Bulldogs responded with a 3-pointer to cut the Buffs’ lead to two, but McKenna Myers knocked down two free throws to ice the game. Jenkins led the way with 23 points, earning Tournament MVP honors. Longmire added 19 off the bench, while Clark chipped in 18.
After the game, Coach Greer spoke about the team’s character.
“If our issue is scoring for three quarters of a game, it’s going to be OK. We started slow on defense. We have great confidence. We have great players with great leaders. We knew we could overcome that without a doubt. Our goal was not to have Jacelyn score 38 on us—she scored 39 instead. She’s a great player.”
Former Lady Cyclone standout Lina Lyon also spoke about the comeback effort.
“We have played a lot of tough games this year. We just know we are OK and can get ourselves back into any game.”
