BOX SCORE
JACKSON – Senior
Blake Martinez knocked down one of his six 3-pointers on the game for Millsaps with 4.7 seconds left in regulation and the Majors claimed third place in the Cabot Lodge-Millsaps Holiday Tournament with a 69-67 win over East Texas Baptist.
Martinez had a streak of 33-straight games with a 3-pointer snapped in an 0-for-9 performance against Huntingdon yesterday, but rebounded to shoot 6-of-12 from long distance in the win over the Tigers in addition to scoring a game-high 20 points.
Millsaps (3-7) shook off its worst shooting performance of the season against the Hawks at 31 percent and finished at 42 percent in the win over ETBU thanks to 7-of-15 shooting from Martinez and 4-of-8 shooting from
Chris Ingle who finished with 10 points.
Tied 32-32 at the break, ETBU got a go-ahead 3-pointer from James Mormon on its opening possession of the second half and stretched the lead to as many as six, 47-41, with just over 15 minutes left in regulation after Jacob Turnipseed's 3-point basket.
The Majors rallied to tie the game at 52-52 with 10 minutes to play after a pair of
Brian Merkel free throws, only to see the Tigers put together a 9-1 scoring run to take their largest lead of the game, 61-53 with 6:57 left.
Millsaps responded with a 9-2 run of its own to draw within one at 63-62, getting a pair of buckets from Martinez and a layup from Ingle off
Cameron Varnado's assist. Back-to-back baskets from Ingle and Varnado then put the Majors back up 66-65 with 55 seconds left, responding after Jordan Murphy's 3-pointer for ETBU.
Mormon connected on 1-of-2 free throws to tie the game again for ETBU at 66-66, giving the Majors one final shot to try and win the game in regulation.
Martinez then drilled his sixth 3-pointer of the game in the far right corner with 4.7 seconds left after an inbounds play which proved to be the game-winner.
Millsaps outscored the ETBU bench 27-12, led by 10 from Ingle and six points from
LV Sumler off a pair of 3s.
Jairus Browning also had a game and career-high five assists to go along with five points in 17 minutes of action. ETBU was led by Turnipseed and Mormon, who finished with 19 and 17 points, respectively.
The Majors will continue a 7-game homestand next weekend, welcoming Southwestern and Trinity University to The Hangar Dome Jan. 8 and 9.
Game Notes:
• ETBU lost both games in the tournament in the final 5 seconds
• Martinez moved into third all-time at Millsaps in career 3-point makes with 176
• Majors grab first win in school history over ETBU (1-2 all-time)