Box Score
Despite 31 points and 12 rebounds from Kyle Turner, the Bruins fell short in a 76-64 loss to Carver College on Thursday night. With the loss, the Bruins were eliminated in the first round of the NCCAA DI South regional playoffs.
The Bruins entered the playoffs on a three-game winning streak to secure the first winning season in program history, and the #2 seed in the regional playoffs. Their opponent would be the Carver College Courgars who finished their regular season 9-16 and secured the #3 seed. The two teams would take the court at the Historic Tysinger Gymnasium at Southern Wesleyan University.
The Cougars came out of the gate strong with back to back rim-rocking dunks by Jamil Saaka to establish the lead and momentum. The Bruins fought back behind the shooting of Kyle Turner to even the score. As the first half continued, the Cougars maintained a short lead. Each time the Bruins would cut into the lead, the Cougars would capitalize on several BJU turnovers to build the lead back up. As the half ended, the Cougars had a slim 35-26 lead over the Bruins.
"We were taking a lot of outside shots in the first half," Coach Ring said. "We talked about attacking the basket and trying to create chances for us. We wanted to keep them from getting easy transition buckets and to keep them off the glass. I thought our effort was good."
In the second half, the Bruins' deficit fell to 14 points as Carver knocked down several jump shots to open the half. After a timeout, the Bruins went on a 12-2 run to get back into the game. After a three point shot by Kyle Turner, the Bruins trailed 57-53 with just over 8 minutes remaining. The Cougars were able to make key buckets down the stretch and had several second-chance points to keep their lead.
As the final buzzer sounded, the Bruins had come up short in a 76-64 loss. "They never quit," Coach Ring said of his team. "These guys were called upon to change their roles tonight and overall I thought we did a lot of good things. They were better than us tonight. We just couldn't get those key baskets to fall for us tonight."
Kyle Turner led all scorers with 31 points and 12 rebounds. Evan Brondyke scored 11 and Zach Mercado chipped in 9. The Bruins had 20 turnovers and shot 37% from the floor for the game. With the loss, the Bruins were eliminated from the NCCAA DI South regional playoffs. The team finishes the season at 16-15. With three seniors graduating, the Bruins will look to continue to build on the strong foundation laid by this year's team.
