Box Score The atmosphere was electric and the fans were out in full voice as the Pensacola Christian College Eagles defeated the BJU Bruins 88-70 on Saturday night. "I hate losing, but love the environment on the road," Coach Neal Ring said. "We just couldn't get the stops we needed defensively in the second half and at the same time were missing everything offensively."
With the loss, the Bruins drop to 14-13 on the season as the team has lost three straight and four of their last five. The Bruins and Eagles met earlier in the season with the Bruins winning in convincing fashion with a 92-62 victory in Greenville. The next chapter of this rivalry would have a much different ending as the two teams took the floor in the Sports Center Arena.
The Eagles rode the momentum of their hometown fans to jump out to an early lead. The Bruins tried to respond as Kyle Turner muscled his way through the lane for points. Overall, the Bruins struggled offensively as the team couldn't seem to get into a rhythm to score. The Bruins battled their way back into the game as Ray Holden made a strong finish to the basket to tie the score. From there, both teams went back and forth with neither able to gain a sizable advantage as the Eagles took a 38-32 lead into the break.
In the second half, the Eagles came out strong with a 12-3 run to build to a double digit lead. The Bruins tried to respond as Dustin Killough knocked down several shots to help the team cut into the lead, but the Bruins couldn't find that offensive flow and the Eagles took advantage.
With under ten minutes remaining, the Eagles extended their lead to over 20 as PCC was look to exact some revenge for the earlier season meeting between the two teams. Everything the Bruins tried offensively fell short as the team seemingly couldn't buy a basket in the second half. Still, the Bruins refused to quit and continued to chip away at the lead. The team was able to work the score back down to a 12 point deficit, but in the end the Eagles ran away with this game in an 88-70 victory.
"There are some things we did well tonight," Coach Ring said. "Proud of our effort to battle all the way to the end and I saw a lot of good things from some of the younger guys on our team. We'll just need to get better moving foward."
Dustin Killough led the way for the Bruins with 20 points. Marshall Riddle was the only other Bruin in double figures as he finished with 17 points on the night. The Eagles won the rebounding margin 45-38 while forcing the Bruins to shoot 35% from the floor and just 25% from beyond the arc. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 14-13 on the season. The team returns home on Tuesday night as they host Columbia International University.
