Box Score
It was a tale of two halves as the North Greenville University Crusaders shot 78% from the floor in the 2nd half to snap the Bruins winning streak 86-66 on Thursday night in Greenville. "We need to trust and do the things that we are capable of doing," Coach Neal Ring said. "For a lot of the game we were doing exactly what we wanted to do and overall we can focus on our improvement. Those guys are good over there (at NGU). We knew tonight we were going to have to play a great game and for a big part of the game we had them right where we wanted them."

 

The Bruins and Crusaders met earlier this season in Tigerville, South Carolina with the Crusaders rolling to a 99-71 win. The Bruins were a different team from the last time these teams met as BJU was riding a three-game winning streak with a 7-15 record coming into Thursday's game. The Crusaders entered the game at 14-7 having won 4 of their last 5 games.

From the opening tip, the Bruins set the tempo early as the team slowed down their offensive play to jump out to a 7-2 lead to open the game. The Crusaders then responded with an 8-0 run as both teams began to settle into their offensive flow. The Bruins forced the Crusaders to slow down their up-tempo style of play, and limited transition opportunities all throughout the half.

After a jumper by Dustin Killough, the Bruins took a 16-10 lead while continuing to force NGU into tough shots. The Crusaders were able to battle back into the game behind the impressive play of Phillip Brown and Korval McElroy as the team eventually took the lead. Dustin Killough helped the Bruins close out the half strong as the team trailed NGU 33-32 at the break.

"We wanted to stop the ball in transition and play good defense," Killough said. "I thought we did a lot better this time than last. I thought we played much better together on the offensive end and we were able to hit some shots and get good looks."

In the second half, the sleeping giant awoke as the Crusaders stormed out of the gate with a 12-5 run to establish tempo in the game. The Bruins didn't help matters as the team had four straight turnovers to start the half which translated into points on the opposite end. NGU pushed the ball in transition and was able to drive into the lane for open looks. The Bruins did their best to slow down the opposition but the Crusaders were just too hot to stop as the team shot 78% in the second half and were 15-19 from the free throw line.

After a layup by Micah Parker, the Crusaders took a double digit lead and didn't look back as they continued to pour it on in the second half. The Bruins tried to claw their way back into the game, but in the end the Crusaders couldn't be stopped as NGU snapped the Bruins three-game winning streak with an 86-66 victory.

"I'm pleased with our effort tonight," Coach Ring said. "We talked about taking the positives from this game as we move forward. We need to do the things that we are capable of doing and tonight we just allowed them too many offensive opportunities in the second half."

Dustin Killough led the Bruins with 19 points and Corey Turner chipped in 12 off the bench. Marshall Riddle was the only other player to score in double figures with 10. The Bruins were outrebounded in this game 32-22 including allowing 13 offensive rebounds which translated to 23 second-chance points for the Crusaders. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 7-16 on the season. The Bruins begin a two-game road trip on Saturday as the team battles Pensacola Christian College in Florida.