BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - After falling in the conference opener to Millsaps, the Birmingham-Southern men's basketball team earned an emphatic 74-54 victory over the Majors at Bill Battle to start 2024.

The Panthers got off to an excellent start by jumping out to a 25-6 lead after the opening ten minutes of action. Sharpshooter Kaleb Green capped off the opening run for BSC with his third three-pointer to stretch the lead to 21. The 'Southern defense was everywhere with six turnovers forced and only three made field goals allowed in the opening fourth of action. The Majors then found some rhythm as the Panthers went cold. A 7-0 run in almost five minutes of play pulled Millsaps back within 12 with 4:46 remaining in the first half. However, BSC picked things back up after a timeout and finished the half on an 11-0 run to take total control of the contest. Freshman Kalib Thomas, who had an excellent night off the bench, knocked down the jumper with 36 seconds left in the period to put his side up 36-13 at the break. 

The Panthers built on the momentum from the end of the first half to start the second.  After leading 43-17, 'Southern had a sequence of Kalib Thomas three, Kalib Thomas steal, and a Kalib Thomas layup followed by a Kaleb Green steal and fastbreak dunk with authority to stretch the margin. A 14-4 run by BSC inside the opening five minutes of the half gave themselves a 50-17 lead. With 10:05 remaining in the game, the Panthers had their largest lead of the game at 37 points. The Majors then went on a 21-2 run in less than seven minutes to close the gap to 19 points with 3:28 remaining. Despite the scare from Millsaps, BSC would hold on and close the game out with a 74-54 win to go back to .500 in SAA play.

BSC Leaders

SAA Player of the Week Jay Gillispie led all scorers with 18 points on 8-8 shooting from the field. Kalib Thomas had a career-high 15 points and two steals. Kaleb Green finished with 14 points and two steals including four threes.

Final Score: BSC 74, Millsaps 86

Records
Birmingham-Southern (7-6) (1-1 SAA), Millsaps (2-10) (1-1 SAA)

Up next
The Panthers will be back home on Friday, Jan. 5 to take on conference foe Centre at 8:00 p.m.