Milson’s 25 points are decisive at Smith Center
In the first four games of his college career at UNC Wilmington, Tanner Milson played 73 minutes and took five shots, missing them all.
But Monday night at George Washington, Milson got his first start and was more than up to it, scoring 25 points, including the Seahawks’ last five in the final 66 seconds, leading UNCW to a 73-69 victory.
Milson, a 6-foot-2 freshman from Cedar Hill, Tex., hit seven of nine 3-point attempts, including the go ahead shot with 1:06 to go. Then, with 11 seconds left, he calmly drained two free throws to clinch it.
“He had no confidence. He wouldn’t even look at the basket at all,” said UNCW coach Buzz Peterson of Milson’s first few nervous games. “Just talked to him a little bit, a freshman. He felt good as a shooter and was able to hit some shots for us.”
GW (2-3) lost at home for the second time this season, despite a career-high night from its own freshman sharpshooter, 6-8 Nemanja Mikic (23 points), who hit 7 of 13 shots from the arc. The Colonials turned a 12-point deficit into an eight-point lead in the first half, using pressure defense, the shooting of Mikic, and the scrappy work of sophomore reserve Dwayne Smith (10 points, 7 rebounds).
GW led most of the second half. But just inside the 5-minute mark, Milson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the lead back to the Seahawks.
“He had 25 points. That’s a career for him,” said GW coach Karl Hobbs. “In these type of games, you need somebody to step up. You need to have somebody have that type of game. [They] had it with him.”
UNCW (3-3) went with a smaller lineup Monday night, thus the insertion of Milson, to join 5-11 senior Chad Tomko (11 points, 10 assists) and 6-3 senior Ahmad Grant (11 points) in a three-guard lineup.
Meanwhile, the GW backcourt was hindered by the foul trouble of junior Tony Taylor (5 points, 5 assists), the Colonials top scorer, who played 22 minutes before fouling out with 2:07 to go. Hobbs refused to blame the loss on foul trouble.
“We had our best moments when he on the bench,” said Hobbs. “We’ve got to find a way to finish plays. We have a fast-break and miss a layup, and they make a three.”
Hobbs was speaking of a critical miss by junior guard Aaron Ware (four points, seven rebounds), that preceded the consecutive 3-pointers by Milson that turned the tide. GW’s best moments came during a 14-point run in the first half that included a trio of 3-pointers by Mikic, a three-point play by Smith, and an alley-oop slam dunk, Ware feeding David Pellom.
The rally was fueled by defense, but in the second half, the Colonials never recaptured their edge against the Seahawks’ three-guard set, led by Milson.
“I always had confidence. I just wasn’t looking so much to shoot the ball,” said Milson of the hesitant start to his career. “I was trying to find my role on the team.”
