Box Score
The Bruins suffered another tough road loss as the team fell to 0-2 on the season with a 94-73 loss to the University of Pikeville on Saturday night. "We're 0-2 but we have competed against two quality opponents," Head Coach Neal Ring said. "We need to take better care of the ball and defend without fouling to be able to consistently compete against teams at this level."
The team was coming off a tough 102-95 loss on Friday night against Asbury College. The Bears of UPike entered the 2016-17 season at #19 in the country in the NAIA. The Bears came into Saturday's game with a 2-0 record after wins over Central Penn and Bluefield College.
From the opening tip, the Bears came out strong and quickly jumped out to an 11-4 lead. The Bruins defense had trouble slowing the Bears, but the team was able to counter offensively with the outside shooting of Marshall Riddle to keep the lead within reach. As the half wore on, the Bears lead continued to grow as the Bruins struggled to contain UPike defensively.
With the half drawing to a close, Bruins guard Justin Matthews helped to spark a rally for the Bruins as he knocked down a three to cut the lead to 34-30. But the Bears came roaring back with the help of a 19-2 run to close out the half with a 54-35 lead.
"We struggled to guard them without fouling," Coach Ring said. "And that really hurt us in the first half."
In the second half, the Bruins were hoping to take their halftime adjustments to cut into the Bears lead. Marshall Riddle stormed out of the gate for the Bruins as the captain scored 12-straight points including three straight three's, but the Bears matched the Bruins basket for basket to keep the lead. Still, the Bruins refused to back down as they worked the ball inside to Quez Fisher for points and relied on the outside shooting of Riddle and Matthews to stay in the game.
As the game neared its end, the Bears began to pull away as they fed off the energy of their home crowd. Unfortunately, the Bruins deficit was too much to overcome as UPike held on for a 94-73 win.
"This was a tough matchup for us today against a top NAIA team," Coach Ring said. "But we'll learn from this and we're ready to get back in the gym and work at getting better."
Marshall Riddle led the Bruins with 28 points on the night including shooting an impressive 64% from beyond the arc. Quez Fisher had a good night in the post for the Bruins as the sophomore had 12 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists in the game. The Bruins shot 50% from the floor, but struggled with 28 turnovers as they fall to 0-2 on the season.
Next up, the Bruins will have another tough road test as they battle Furman University at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in downtown Greenville on November 2.
