Box Score
The battle of the Bruins wrote its next chapter as Bob Jones University used six different players scoring in double figures to hang on for a 90-84 victory over the Piedmont International University Bruins on Thursday night in Greenville.

"The little things are crucial and we have to do the little things to win," Bruins captain Ray Holden said. "We knew we needed to step up and buckle down and play good defense. We knew we were never out of the game until the buzzer sounded and we needed to stay focused and finish strong."

 

The Bruins came into Thursday's game with a 3-game losing streak including back to back losses on the road. The team was hoping to get back into the win column as the welcome Piedmont. PIU entered the game with a 9-11 record having defeated Warren Wilson College on Monday night. Both fan bases were ready for a battle as the two teams took the court in the Davis Field House.

Both teams exchanged baskets back and forth in the early minutes with several lead changes as each looked to gain the advantage. The Bruins used a 13-2 run to jump out to a double-digit lead behind the shooting of Dustin Killough and Kyle Turner. The Bruins also got a spark from Ray Holden off the bench, who scored 9 1st half points of which 7 were earned from the free-throw line. The Bruins did an excellent job of attacking the rim to open up lanes to score which helped them be able to increase their lead.

After Chae Dexter finished a layup, the Bruins had a 32-19 lead. With each possession, the team became more and more confident as they closed out the half strong with stellar defense and smart offensive possessions to take a 50-35 lead into halftime.

"I thought we attacked well and were able to execute our game plan," Coach Neal Ring said. "That gave us an opportunity to control the game like we wanted. We wanted to send them a message that they were going to have to play well in the 2nd half."

Piedmont responded strong out of the gate behind the slick shooting of Malik Milton who barraged the Bruins with points. A brief skirmish in the beginning stages of the 2nd half caused three players to be ejected as BJU would be without Dustin Killough and PIU would be without Carl Tyson and Robah Flynt for their actions in the altercation. PIU used the opportunity to continue to rally and cut into the Bruins lead. Milton scored 29 2nd half points to help PIU come storming back into the game. After a three-point shot by Justin Valentine, PIU had come all the way back to cut the lead to 68-64.

The Bruins responded by continuing to attack the lane for points. The team was able to get to the line 46 times throughout the course of the night and eventually fouled out three players from PIU's lineup. Those converted free throw attempts down the stretch allowed the Bruins to hang on for a 90-84 win.

"We cut our season down to focus on this final stretch of games we have the rest of this season and we were determined to win this game tonight," Coach Ring said. "Every game we play at this point of the season is preparing us for the regional playoffs. I have a lot of respect for Coach Walker and his program and his team plays really hard and we want our players to play hard. I was proud of my team's effort tonight"

Kyle Turner led the Bruins with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Ray Holden chipped in 15 points, Dustin Killough and Chae Dexter each had 12 points and Marshall Riddle scored 13 to go along with 8 assists. The Bruins won the rebounding battle with a 43-37 margin and were able to shoot 50% from the field throughout the game. With the win, the team improves to 8-18 on the season. Next up, the Bruins will travel to Southern Wesleyan University on Monday night.