FORT VALLEY, Ga. | Elijah McMillan recorded a new career high in scoring, but it wasn't enough as the Tuskegee University men's basketball team fell to Fort Valley State University, 84-76 in Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play Thursday night.
 
McMillan finished the night with a double-double, scoring a career-high 28 points and grabbing a career-high 13 rebounds. He was the lone player in double figures as Daniel Roach and Camden Foster each scored nine points in the loss.
 
Tuskegee (10-7, 6-4 SIAC)finished the night shooting 35.3 (24-of-68) percent of their shots from the floor, while hitting just 14.3 (4-of-28) percent from beyond the arc.
 
Fort Valley State (4-18, 2-10 SIAC) was led by Dareial Franklin with 22 points.
 
The two teams traded baskets early and often in the first half with Tuskegee grabbing the early lead. The Golden Tigers were able to fend off Fort Valley State for much of the first half, answering every basket or free throw with their own and grabbing a 17-16 lead with 13:44 to play on a Daniel Roach three-pointer.
 
Fort Valley State was able to close to within a point, at 20-19 with 10:53 to play until Elijah McMillan pushed the lead back to three on a lay-up with 10:22 to play in the half. After a free throw by Fort Valley State cut the lead to 22-20, the Golden Tigers went on a 7-1 run to open their biggest lead of the game at 29-21 with 7:29 to play in the half.
 
During the run, the Golden Tigers got a basket from McMillian, and free throws from several players – including Camden Foster, McMillan and Joel Nuriddin.
 
Fort Valley answered the run with one of their own, going on a 9-0 run over a span of three minutes to take their first lead of the game 30-29 with 4:59 to play in the half. They extended the lead to 32-29 before James Vinson knocked down a three-pointer with 3:10 to play to tie the game at 32-all.
 
From there, the Golden Tigers opened up a 7-0 run highlighted by a pair of steals and lay-ups to push the lead to 36-32 with 2:10 to play. After a three-pointer from Fort Valley State, the Golden Tigers went up 39-35 on a Kevin May lay-up with 1:14 to play in the half. The lead would stay there as the Wildcats missed a three-pointer with less than two seconds remaining on the clock with Tuskegee heading into the locker room up 39-37.
 
The two teams came out of the locker room trading baskets early in the second half , with no one holding more than a two-point margin until Tuskegee took a 52-47 lead on a McMillan three-pointer with 13:57 to play in the contest. Fort Valley State battled back, going on a 16-3 run to take a 63-55 lead with 9:59 to play in the game. McMillan was able to minimize the run with a pair of free throws with 9:36 to play in the half, cutting the deficit to 63-57.
 
Unfortunately for Tuskegee, the Wildcats started another run over the next few minutes to take their biggest lead of the game at 11, 68-57, with 7:45 to play in the game. The Golden Tigers answered with an 8-1 run of their own to trim the deficit to 6:10 to play in the game, with McMillan scoring six of the points in the run.
 
Down the stretch, the teams traded baskets for the final margin.
 
Tuskegee returns to action Saturday afternoon against Albany State University in a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest on the road, with tip scheduled for 3 pm (est).
 
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