JACKSON, Miss. -- Chris Boyd's layup with just seconds remaining in the second half sent the game into overtime, but the Covenant men's basketball team fell 73-67 to Millsaps in extra time on Friday night at the Hangar Dome.
The loss is Covenant's third straight and drops the Scots to 1-4 overall. The overtime defeat is Covenant's first since Dec. 7, 2011 at Oglethorpe. The Scots had won their previous three overtime contests. Millsaps improves to 3-4 on the year.
Chris Boyd tied a career-high with 16 points and narrowly missed a double-double as he collected nine rebounds. Colton McGriff added 11 points with six rebounds and a career-best six assists, while Connor Sears scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds. TJ Cox registered eight points and six assists. Z Arima totaled four points and five assists.
After trailing by five at halftime, 34-29, Covenant came back in the second half thanks to 10 points in the period from Boyd. The two teams went back-and-forth for much of the half until Covenant took a 61-58 lead on a layup from Sears with 2:28 remaining.
Millsaps rallied with baskets from Mac McElveen and Dustin Aubert to grab a 62-61 lead with 1:29 left. After Covenant was forced to foul with 25 seconds left, McElveen made just one of two free throws to give the Majors a 63-61 edge. After a Covenant timeout with under 10 seconds to play, Cox found Boyd who made the layup with three seconds to go. A desperation 3-point attempt by Aubert was off the mark and the game went into overtime.
McGriff gave the Scots a 65-63 lead with a basket on Covenant's first possession of the period and Sears added a layup with 4:02 remaining for a 67-65 lead. Millsaps would score the final eight points of the overtime as Covenant turned the ball over on four straight possessions late in the overtime session.
Covenant dished out a season-high 22 assists on 28 made field goals. The Scots shot 48.3 percent (28-of-58) from the field, but made just 4-of-21 from 3-point land. Covenant held a 36-35 rebound advantage, marking the first time this season they have outrebounded an opponent.
McElveen produced a game-high 26 points for the Majors and Marc Robertson buried six 3-pointers for his 18 points. Aubert added 11 points and eight assists. Millsaps connected on 44.4 percent (28-of-63) for the game including nine 3-pointers.
Covenant will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Memphis to take on Rhodes. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. EST.
Be sure to follow the Scots all season long on athletics.covenant.edu and on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for up-to-date scores, news and other information.
