Box Score
North Greenville University unleashed a barrage of scoring on the Bruins on Tuesday night as the Crusaders ran away with a 111-83 game. "This is a growth game for us," Coach Ring said. "Losing can either haunt you for the next game or teach you for the next game. I am confident our guys are going to learn from this and hopefully the next time we step on the floor we'll have a better effort, better energy and more together as a team." 

 

The Bruins came into the game with a 10-7 record, but the team had dropped two of their last three. The Crusaders came into Tuesday night's game with a 5-10 record, but came in strong having won two of their last three games. The two teams were ready to take the court as the next round for the "battle of the Upstate" was about to begin. 

The Crusaders came out strong from the opening tip and worked the ball inside for open looks. After a three-point shot by Justin Dotson, NGU extended their lead to 10-3 as the Bruins struggled to score. Slowly, the Bruins rode the offensive shooting of Marshall Riddle as the sophomore guard knocked down several shots in the first half. Still, the Crusaders continued to extend their lead as they created space in the lane for high percentage shots. The Crusaders limited the Bruins chances offensively as NGU pressed BJU into tough shots and turnovers. Crusaders' forward Tommy Wade had two dunks for NGU in the first half as the Crusaders rode their momentum to a 49-34 halftime lead.

"We just allowed them to control the tempo of the game," Riddle said. "We didn't get stops defensively and that allowed them to set up their press which didn't allow us to get into our offense." 
 
In the second half, the Bruins were looking for anything to get them back into the game. Each time the Bruins went on a run, the Crusaders would come up with a run of their own to keep the lead. The Crusaders continued to shoot the ball well as the team was well over 75% from the field throughout the course of the second half. The Bruins couldn't seem to find the answer as the team struggled just shooting 25% from beyond the arc. As the final buzzer sounded, the Crusaders had come away with a dominant 111-83 victory. 

"At times our effort was there and at times it wasn't," Kyle Turner said. "We need to sleep well tonight and forget about this one and come back and get a good focus on defense and communication and be ready for the next one."  

Marshall Riddle led the Bruins with 21 points while Shawn Lipscomb chipped in 16 and Kyle Turner added 14. The team was outrebounded 38-31 by NGU and allowed the Crusaders to shoot 63% from the field throughout the game and 57% from three-point range. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 10-8 on the season. Next up, the Bruins will welcome Piedmont International University on Friday night.