Box Score
The BJU Bruins have struggled in their inaugural season as the team lost its first five games. The most recent defeat came at the hands of Emmanuel College on Thursday night in a 79-64 loss. On Friday, the Bruins traveled to Wise, Virginia for a matchup with the University of Virginia College Cavaliers. The Cavs came into the season at 2-1 with their most recent victory in a 79-77 nail-biter against King College.

From the opening tip, the Bruins knew they were going to be in for a long game. The Cavs allowed the Bruins to score the first bucket of the game, but that would be the Bruins only lead the entire night as the Cavs went on a 16-5 run in the 1^st half and continued to assert their dominance on both ends of the floor. The Bruins struggled to contain Cavs’ guard Tyler Maggard who scored 17 points in the first half. As the buzzer sounded for halftime, the Bruins were down 49-27.

“This is a really good program,” Coach Ring said. “They are well coached, and they just were quicker and much stronger than we were. We knew this was going to be a tough opponent and they just really showed why they are a good team with the way they executed.”

As the second half began, the Bruins continued to show their weaknesses on both sides of the floor. The team struggled in keeping the Cavs out of the paint and the Bruins continued to struggle with turnovers as the team committed 19 in the game. The Cavs shot 54% from the floor and continued their dominance all throughout the second half. When the final buzzer sounded, the Cavs had given the Bruins their sixth straight loss in a 90-50 loss.

“We continue to see areas we have to work on,” Coach Ring said. “That’s why we play teams like these guys so we can get better. We did ok tonight, but we have to keep improving.”

Darnell Antoine led all scorers for the Bruins as he had 13 points off the bench. Jason McVey added 6 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, but the Bruin offense struggled as a whole.
The Bruins will get back to work on Monday as they prepare for their next matchup against Toccoa Falls on Tuesday night.