JACKSON, Miss. – Brian Merkel scored the game's final four points to seal the Majors' 55-51 win today over the Hendrix College Warriors.

The junior from Baton Rouge nailed a clutch jumper with 1:15 remaining to break a 51-51 tie. He followed that with a steal on the defensive end to regain possession for the Majors and closed the deal with a pair of flawless free throws to get Millsaps their first conference win of the season.

The Majors (5-3, 1-2 SCAC) scored first and never trailed on the day despite stiff competition from the Warriors (2-6, 0-3 SCAC). The game was tied on four separate occasions, and the largest the Majors could ever build their lead to was 11 in the second half.  Two of those ties came in the closing minutes as the two teams seemed poised to go back-and-forth until the buzzer sounded.

The Majors were led offensively by Nick Cortese and Brian Cooper, each with 15 points.  L.V. Sumler pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds and added eight points of his own. The Majors shot just 30 percent from the floor, going 16-of-54. Hendrix shot 44 percent but hit just four more shots from the floor than the Majors, 20-of-45. Millsaps went 5-of-16 from three, but the main difference was at the foul line. The Majors hit more free throws than the Warriors took, 18-of-23 compared to just 8-of-13.

The Majors will not have long to enjoy the victory as they will travel up to Memphis to take on Rhodes College in a non-conference game tomorrow afternoon.  Tipoff is slated for 5:00 p.m. at Mallory Gymnasium following the conclusion of the women's game at 3:00.