December 29, 2007
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Millikin University men's basketball team built a 13-point halftime advantage and never look back as the Big Blue took the McDonald's of Bluffton consolation game by a final score of 81-64 over Concordia University on Saturday, Dec. 29, 2007. Millikin improved to 7-2 with the victory while the Cardinals dropped to 4-10 following the loss.
Millikin hit its first three triples in the first five minutes of the contest, but the Big Blue led by only a single point, 11-10, when Anthony Bates, who scored the first 10 points for Concordia, buried a three-pointer with 15:19 to play in the opening half.
John Harmsen knocked down back-to-back treys and Dana Givens scored five straight to give Millikin a 26-19 lead just past the mid-way point of the first half. Givens tickled the twine with another triple and Zach Ott followed with a pair of makes from the charity stripe for a 31-22 Big Blue lead.
With 2:13 to play in period one, Tunde Ogunleye made it a 10-point Millikin advantage and when Harmsen hit from long-range, the Big Blue opened up a 38-25 lead at the break.
To open the second half, the Cardinals went on a 13-5 lead thanks to a Scott Spencer trifecta and seven points from Bates as Concordia trimmed the deficit to five points with 14:12 to play in the game.
The Big Blue inserted Bob Burton into the lineup following an old-fashioned three-point play by Bates and the move instantly paid huge dividends. Burton went 12-of-15 at the free throw line during the next eight minutes as his 18 points during that span allowed Millikin to push the lead back to 13 points, 65-52.
Concordia never got closer than 12 points the rest of the way as Millikin rattled the rim with a pair of dunks late in the game, one a thunderous follow on Tunde Ogunleye missed triple try by 6-0 guard Mark Patrick and the other an ally-oop from Dana Givens to Darrell Adams with one minute to play. Millikin took the consolation game by a final score of 81-64.
Anthony Bates, who was selected to the all-tournament team, led the Cardinals with 25 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the field. He also dished out a game-high five assists. Dennis Meaney just missed a double- double, finishing with 12 points and nine rebounds. Concordia hit 23-of-56 from the field for 41.1 percent, including 5-of-12 from long distance for 41.7 percent. For the game, Concordia pulled down 34 rebounds.
Burton paced Millikin with 18 points in only eight minutes of action. John Harmsen knocked down 5-of-8 triples for 16 points and he was named to the all-tournament team following an 8-of-11 shooting display from long range over the weekend. Dana Givens dropped in 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting for the victors. Zach Ott added seven points and seven rebounds for the Big Blue. Millikin made 27-of-59 shots for 45.8 percent from the field. The Big Blue cleaned the glass with 39 boards and the victors dished out 16 assists.
-BEAVERS-
