Box Score
Before most fans had settled into their seats, the Rams bombarded the Bruins with baskets to jump out to a 20 point lead as Columbia International University defeated Bob Jones University 85-80 on Tuesday night in Greenville. "We just didn't do the little things," Bruins' captain Ray Holden said. "These are things the coaches keep reminding us of in practice and we just weren't doing it and there is no excuses for that. When we buy into to what we are trying to do as a team we are very tough to beat but we just didn't do that tonight." 

 

The Bruins came into the game having lost 4 of their last 5 including dropping three straight. Their last win came on the road against Columbia International University as the team came from behind to defeat the Rams 80-68 on the road. The Bruins were hoping the energy of the hometown fans would help them end their losing streak as they took the court. 

The Rams came out firing on all cylinders as the team used great ball movement and excellent shooting to jump out to a 26-5 lead over the Bruins. CIU couldn't seem to miss early on as Linas Janenas and company shot over 70% in the opening minutes from the field. Conversely, the Bruins started the game by shooting 1-12 from the field as the team struggled offensively in getting good shots. After a timeout, the Bruins went on a 7-0 run to begin to chip away at the Rams lead. With their three-point shots not falling, the Bruins worked the ball inside and were able to gain trips to the line. Still, the Rams remained on top as their red hot shooting continued throughout the first half.

With under a minute to go in the half, the Bruins were looking to gain momentum as they held the ball for the final shot of the half. Ray Holden drove through the lane and found Kyle Turner in the corner as Turner knocked home the Bruins first three-point shot of the half but the team trailed 53-39 at the break. 

"We put ourselves in a hole and yet our defense throughout the rest of the half was good," Coach Ring said. "We allowed their good shooters to be great shooters tonight in giving them a lot of looks." 

In the second half, another slow start hurt the Bruins as the team struggled to score and the Rams took advantage by working the ball around for open looks. The Bruins defense began to tighten up as the team forced the Rams into tough shots and took care of rebounding on the defensive end. With each possession, the Bruins began to slowly allow their defense to fuel their offense to work their way back into the game. Noah Smith provided back to back threes for the team to spark a rally and cut into the deficit. 

With just over five minutes to go, Kyle Turner made a hook shot to bring the Bruins within ten points 77-67. Turner found the basket again to make it an 8 point deficit as the Bruins were sensing a dramatic comeback. Still, the Rams came up with buckets when it mattered most as Ben Johnson made a three point shot with just over a minute to go to give the Rams a 7 point lead. The Bruins fought their way back and used a beautifully executed play to free Kyle Turner for a basket after Ray Holden purposely missed his free throw to make the score 83-80. On the ensuing possession, the Bruins were called with a foul and the Rams iced the victory with two clutch free throws to hand the Bruins their 4th straight loss 85-80. 

"We are giving our guys the day off tomorrow get away for a bit and come back with a fresh perspective," Coach Ring said. "We battled so hard but we also got in our own way in wasting a lot of our opportunities and it was frustrating because our guys worked so hard to get us back into that position. We know we have more to do and we're not done this season."

Kyle Turner led the Bruins with 21 points and 9 rebounds while Ray Holden had 17 points and 11 rebounds. The Bruins shot just 17% from behind the arc in the game but dominated the glass outrebounding CIU 52-29. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 14-14 on the season. Next up, the Bruins will have some time off before traveling to Emmanuel College on Tuesday night.