Box Score
The BJU Bruins continued their inaugural season as they traveled to West Point, Georgia for a matchup with the Point University Skyhawks. The team has struggled thus far in the season, as the men continue to see the difficulty in playing intercollegiate sports. In this game, the Bruins would face a bigger and stronger opponent as the Skyhawks had several players who towered over the Bruins.
From the opening tip, the Bruins offense struggled to put up points while the Skyhawks seemed to be able to make everything they put up. As the game wore on, the Bruins continued to fall behind as the team committed 11 turnovers throughout the first half. With a series of timeouts, Coach Ring challenged the team to work harder and be smarter with the ball. The team continued to work hard, but the Skyhawks seemed to overpower the Bruins in the paint. At the half, the team was down 14 points as the team struggled offensively.
“We’re making some strides,” Coach Ring said. “For us, it is about taking care of the basketball and not giving up second chance opportunities and working better on offense.”
As the second half began, the Bruins began to play much better on both ends of the court. Despite their improved play, the Skyhawks continued to shoot impressive numbers as the team shot over 60% on the night. Despite the offensive firepower by the Skyhawks, the Bruins were able to make an impressive run and cut the lead to seven points with 14 minutes left in the game. The Skyhawks took a timeout and Coach Alan Wilson rallied his players. The Skyhawks came out of the timeout with a new perspective and began to apply great defensive pressure. The lead went from seven to 25 in less than five minutes of action.
“We were playing some pretty good defense but [Point] has some really good players,” Coach Ring said. “They just had an excellent night offensively.”
With the game well in hand, the Skyhawks showed the Bruins what it will take to play intercollegiate ball. As the final buzzer sounded, the Bruins found themselves on the disappointing end of a 93-57 game. Caleb Owen led the way for the Bruins with eleven points, but the Bruins offensive struggles were very apparent throughout the game. The team also struggled with 17 turnovers in the second half to bring their total to 28 for the game.
“We’re game three," Coach Ring said of his young team. “We will never use that as an excuse, and each game we got to get better. Right now our philosophy is that tomorrow we need to play better than we did today and we hope to do that going forward.”
With the loss, the Bruins losing streak extends to three games. The team will continue to work on improvement as the take on Reinhardt University on Saturday.
