Box Score
It was the tale of two halves for the BJU Bruins basketball team on Thursday night as the team escaped the opening round of the NCCAA DI South regional playoffs with a 97-93 overtime win over Columbia International University. This was the 1st postseason win in program history.

"I am really happy for these guys," Coach Ring said. "We've endured a difficult season but they have worked hard and tonight was an example of them just gutting it out. CIU played a whale of a second half but we did what we needed to do to come out on top tonight."

 

In the opening minutes, the two teams told the same story of their previous contests as the Bruins and Rams stayed neck and neck throughout the opening minutes. The Bruins then jumped out of the gate with a 13-0 run to increase their lead 21-8. The team was able to work through their offensive sets to find the open man and Marshall Riddle and Kyle Turner helped power the Bruins with a combined 24 1st half points.

After a Marshall Riddle 3-point shot, the Bruins took a commanding 30-11 lead with just over 9 minutes remaining in the half. The team continued to play great defense and rode momentum on shooting 48% from the field in the half, including shooting 55% from beyond the arc. As the halftime buzzer rang, the Bruins led 46-30 over the Rams.

"We missed a lot of layups in the first half and gave them a little momentum," Coach Ring said. "We had some defensive lapses and that gave them some confidence and we knew they were going to come out and play better in the second half."

In the second half, the Bruins came out slow in the opening minutes and the Rams took advantage of it by beginning to chip their way back into the game. The Rams used every opportunity on offense to attack the rim which caused the Bruins to quickly get into foul trouble. Over the course of the half, the Bruins would lose Ray Holden, Kyle Turner, Corey Turner and Marshall Riddle who fouled out of the game. The Bruins heavy handed defense allowed the Rams 29 free-throw attempts in the 2nd half which allowed CIU to climb right back into the game.

"It was tough to watch," Kyle Turner said. "You are used to being out there and helping the team and I was sitting next to a lot of guys who aren't used to fouling out of the games. I was proud of our bench though and the way they played after we went out."

After a three-point shot by Daniel Collins, the Rams had come all the way back to cut the deficit to just 62-56. With the Bruins on edge, the Rams continued to attack the rim for points and trips to the line. With just over 5 minutes remaining, Chae Dexter scored on a layup to give the Bruins a 85-78 lead. The Rams then went on a 9-0 run to overtake the Bruins and grab their first lead since the beginning of the game with a 87-85 advantage. The Bruins bench stepped up big with clutch shots and rebounds as Chae Dexter again provided the answer for the Bruins and tied the game with a layup 87-87. The two teams couldn't captializ in the closing seconds sending this game to overtime.

In the overtime period, the Bruins got huge back to back buckets from Dustin Killough and Chae Dexter to jump out to a 92-87 lead. The team was able to make several key defensive stops and capitalize on their free throws to escape with a 97-93 win over CIU.

"Day in and day out in practice we tell our guys to be ready for that moment that we need them," Coach Ring said. "We had several guys step up for us tonight off the bench and provide us with a much-needed boost. I was proud of our team and all of our guys and how they played and finished the game."

Kyle Turner led the Bruins with 23 points and 10 rebounds as he was one of six Bruins to score in double figures. Dustin Killough scored 16 points, Chae Dexter had 14 points, Noah Smith had 13, Marshall Riddle had 11 and Ray Holden had 10. The Bruins won the rebounding margin 43-40 while shooting 48% from the field and 40% for the game from behind the arc. With the win, the Bruins will move on to the semi-final round tomorrow night when they battle #1 seeded Emmanuel College at 7 p.m. in Franklin Springs, Georgia.