Box Score Despite having a halftime lead, the Bruins couldn't hold on as the Emmanuel College Lions came back with a strong second half to defeat the Bruins 70-53 on Saturday afternoon. "Our team came to play and so with a lot of heart in this game," Coach Mike LeViere said. "Great game from a team that just battled through 4 games in the last 5 days against some very good teams."
The Bruins entered Saturday's game with a 5-5 record after falling at home to Southern Wesleyan University on Friday night. The Lions started the season at 2-0 and looked to keep up their winning ways as they took the court in front of their hometown fans.
From the opening tip, the Bruins came out strong as the team knocked down several early shots to build a 9-3 lead. Hannah Tompkins helped the offense by knocking down several shots from the outside as the Bruins maintained the lead. The Lions began to slowly chip away at the Bruins lead, but BJU remained on top and closed out the first quarter with an 18-16 lead.
In the second quarter, the Bruins continued to stay red hot from the outside as the Maggi Ford knocked down a three to make it 22-18. After the Lions battled back to tie the game, the Bruins went on an 8-0 run to increase their lead to 30-24 with just under two minutes remaining. The Lions tried to claw their way back into the game, but the Bruins offense was firing on all cylinders as the team capitalized on their opportunities and took a 35-28 lead into halftime.
The Lions came out looking to get back into the game and quickly went on an 8-0 run to gain their first lead of the game 36-35. The Bruins hot shooting had suddenly gone cold while the Lions couldn't seem to miss as they continued to build their lead. After having such a strong first half, the Bruins only scored 7 points in the 3rd quarter as the team trailed 54-42 at the end of the third quarter.
In the 4th, the Bruins refused to quit and continued to try to work their way back into the game. The team couldn't seem to get over the final hump as each run by the Bruins was countered with points for the Lions on the other end. As the final buzzer sounded, the Bruins had played one of their best game of the season but came away with a 70-53 loss to Emmanuel College.
"Our entire team played well," Coach LeViere said. "By far this was one of our best games of the season. We went cold in the third quarter and they hit 70% in the same quarter. That was the difference in the game. I am really proud of our team for the way they battled through a tough schedule this week."
Kendra Jeffcott led the Bruins with 14 points and 13 rebounds while Hannah Tompkins scored 11 and Maggi Ford had 13. The Bruins won the rebounding margin 30-28, but couldn't seem to overcome the Lions lead in the 2nd half. With the loss, the team falls to 5-6 on the season. Now, the Bruins will have a bit of a break to rest and recover as they head into Thanksgiving week. Next up, the Bruins will welcome Toccoa Falls College on December 1.
