The Millsaps Majors took a giant step Saturday (2/14/04) toward securing a berth in the SCAC Tournament by polishing off Oglethorpe, 75-71, before an enthusiastic Millsaps Sports Day crowd. The Majors (5-16, 4-8) are now tied with Sewanee (7-16, 4-8) for the eighth and final spot in the tournament. The good news is that Millsaps holds the tiebreaker advantage due to an 85-76 victory over Sewanee earlier this month. Both clubs are at home for their final 2 conference games. Millsaps hosts Southwestern (2/20) and Trinity (2/22) while Sewanee entertains Rose-Hulman (2/20) and DePauw (2/22).
Saturday's affair was close throughout a first-half that featured 8 lead changes as both teams jockeyed for the locker room lead. Millsaps finally took a 3-point lead at the break, thanks to a Tyler Warren free throw with one tick remaining. Warren was the catalyst for the team's second-highest offensive output of the season as he poured in a career-high 33 points, including a sterling 16 of 18 from the charity stripe.
Millsaps stormed out of the gates in the second half and quickly built a 53-38 cushion, thanks in part to intense work on the defensive end. Oglethorpe did not score a bucket until the 14:05 mark. At that juncture, Oglethorpe began slowly pecking away at the lead but would draw no closer than the final margin.
Demetrus Caldwell pumped in 17 points and reserve Brad Greenhaw provided a huge spark as he came off the bench with 11 key points, a career high. Caldwell led the squad with 7 rebounds.
Oglethorpe (9-13, 5-7) was led by SCAC leading scorer Russ Churchwell with 20. Eric Dickinson (17), Josh Burr (14), and Terry Bailey (11) also reached double figures for the visitors from Atlanta. Burr and Churchwell had 8 boards each.
Millsaps takes a brief break from SCAC play as they travel to Shreveport on Monday to face the LSU-Shreveport Pilots.