The Bob Jones University Bruins basketball team opened the 2014-15 preseason with a scrimmage against the USC Salkehatchie Indians on Thursday night in the Davis Field House. The team rallied behind Kyle and Corey Turner as the brothers accounted for 50% of the Bruins points in the 72-69 win. "We have a long ways to go but I was encouraged by what I saw tonight," Coach Neal Ring said. "We have a group of young men who were resilient now it's just time to continue to work and build moving forward." The fresh-look Bruins had 8 freshman and transfer players on the squad this season. Despite being a preseason game, the Bruin faithful showed their support as over 100 fans were in attendance for the scrimmage. 

 

As the game began, the Indians used a full court press against the Bruins in the opening minutes and forced several turnovers to jump out to an early 16-6 lead. The Bruins were able to slowly chip away at the lead and work their way back into the game. With 5:25 to go in the first half, a three by Noah Smith cut the Bruins deficit to 23-21. Solid play down the stretch by Kyle Turner helped the Bruins gain the lead at the break 36-34.   

"When we executed what we worked on we usually got a layup," Coach Ring said. "Against the press, we were trying to get the guys to be stronger with the ball and smarter with the ball. We didn't do enough of that to get them out of that pressure. It took us a while to catch up to the speed of the game, but finally we started executing and finding the open guy and we started getting layups."

In the second half, the Bruins continued to ride the shooting touch of Kyle Turner who shot 73% from the field in the game. Despite Turner's hot hand, the Indians battled back and worked their way to a 60-54 lead. That's when the Bruins began to vigorously attack the basket and open up lanes for open players to score. Newcomer Corey Turner finished several three-point plays and the Bruins were able to fight their way back into the game by getting to the free throw line. 

Eventually the Bruins would take a 69-66 lead behind Ray Holden and Kyle Turner's offensive outputs. Down the stretch, the Bruins were able to take advantage from the line to ice the 72-69 victory.  

"Defensively we have to get a whole lot better," Coach Ring said. "Our whole design is to not get beat with drives down the lane and at times we didn't do well defending tonight. We did a good job of having short memories. It was a great way for our guys to practice against intense pressure. My hat goes off to Coach Wingreen and our coaching staff for recruiting some great players for our team this year."  

Kyle Turner led the way for the Bruins with 22 points, 4 assists and 2 steals while Corey Turner added 14 points. Dustin Killough was the only other player in double figures for the team with 11 points. The team committed 19 turnovers on the night, but was able to take advantage of their opportunities for the win. Next up, the Bruins will play their final preseason game against Greenville Technical College on Tuesday night at the Davis Field House.

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