Coggins keeps Buffs alive with
buzzer three
By Wes Holtsclaw
STAR STAFF
wholtsclaw@starhq.com
BRISTOL, Va -- One shot kept a season intact.
Trailing with just over two minutes left in the
game, the Milligan College Buffaloes keyed an impressive comeback
with a pair of treys and two defensive calls in their favor.
Covenant took the ball and ran the clock out
efficiently with Nate Beers going for the victory; however,
the shot fell short and Elizabethton's Michael Morrell grabbed
a rebound and a timeout with 4.2 seconds left on the clock.
Jonathon Harris then drove the ball down the
court and found Eric Coggins, who shot a three while flying
out of bounds. The shot went in and the Buffaloes' season
continues after a 70-67 victory in the first round of the
AAC Tournament at Virginia High School.
"It was an exciting finish," said Milligan coach
Tony Wallingford. "I'm happy for our guys. At the same time,
I feel bad for Covenant that they battled so hard and gave
us a good game. I'm sure both teams felt it should have gone
another five minutes, but tonight, luck was with us."
"We were very fortunate tonight," he said. "Covenant
outplayed us most of that game, but we were able to hang in
and hang in and get a little surge."
Milligan battled from behind for the majority
of the game, tying things late in the first half at 29 apiece.
Covenant took an eight-point lead at the top
of the second half before the Buffaloes were biting at its
heels. A trio of treys from Tim Mahla, Nate Beers and Jeremy
Mason put Covenant up by nine, leading to the Buffalo comeback.
"Necessity can sometimes bring out the best in
you, and it was do or die," said the Milligan coach. "We had
to extend the pressure and try to make some plays. The guys
did it."
For Coggins, the shot was something he didn't
expect.
"I was expecting Harris to take the shot," Coggins
said. "I popped open, he hit me and I took the shot. It felt
good to win it."
Coggins finished with nine points on three treys
for the Buffaloes.
Harris led the game with 20 points inside, while
Craig Emmert added 15.
"We stuck in there," said Emmert. "We were down
nine with two minutes left and every game here could be the
last game of the season. We played up on defense and were
fighting for our life. We made a bunch of stops and Eric hit
the shot. We're moving on."
Milligan now faces King at 7:30 tonight in the
tournament quarterfinals.
"We knocked it down and we'll take it and move
on," said Wallingford. "We've got a huge challenge tomorrow.
The guys celebrated a little bit because they were a team
hungry for a win. But we've got them calmed down and refocused
for tomorrow. I know they'll look forward to it."
The Tornado defeated Milligan twice this season,
including a tight second outing.
"King's a good team -- we've had two close games
with them this year," added Coggins. "We're going to have
to come out and battle hard to win."
Mahla and Beers added 13 and 12 apiece in Covenant's
final appearance this season.
Women
Virginia Intermont 64
Milligan 63
Despite holding onto a lead for the majority
of the game, the Milligan College Lady Buffaloes' season was
ended Wednesday night in a close battle against the Lady Cobras.
Brandi Owens came alive with 13 of her game-high
18 points in the second half to lead Intermont.
Milligan pegged away with three treys apiece
in the first half, courtesy of Kari Stout and Ginny White,
and inside buckets from Lacy York in building a 15-point lead
early.
Intermont battled back to close it at four, courtesy
of Ashley Booker and Dana Frazier, but the Lady Buffs kept
an eight-point (40-32) halftime lead.
Stout scored all of her 13 points in the first
half, only getting in four second-half shots.
It was the final game for Lady Buffalo seniors
Amanda Greene, Nicky Jessen and Joy Clark.
Greene and Jessen contributed a bucket apiece
for Milligan, while Clark led the team in scoring with 16
points.
York added 14 for the Lady Buffaloes, while Booker
and Frazier helped pace the Lady Cobras with 10 and nine,
respectively.
