Box Score
When the Bruins were looking for answers, they found it in the play of Jayson Barnhart as the sophomore forward scored 21 points off the bench to help lead the team to an 87-74 win over Warren Wilson College on Saturday night in the Davis Field House. With the win, the Bruins improve to 5-15 on the season and have now won three of their last four games.
"Coach is always telling us guys on the bench to make an impact in our moment when we get in the game," Barnhart said. "I wanted to impact my moment and do what I could to help our team win."
The Bruins came into the game after picking up an important region win over Toccoa Falls College on Tuesday night. Today, the Bruins welcomed the Owls who came into the game with a 5-11 record, having dropped five-straight road games. The two teams took the court knowing one would emerge victorious over the course of the next 40 minutes of play.
From the opening tip, the Bruins came out on fire on offense and built an early lead. Even more impressive was the defensive play for BJU as the Bruins held the Owls scoreless for the first six minutes of the game. Bruins forward Quez Fisher picked up two early fouls, causing Coach Ring to go to the bench early. Jayson Barnhart subbed in and made an immediate impact with four points in the opening minutes.
The Bruins continued to pour it on offensively as they worked the ball around to open shooters for points. Defensively, the Bruins held the Owls to 0-16 shooting from beyond the arc in the first half as their defensive closeouts forced WWC into tough looks. As the half wore on, the Bruins continued to stretch their lead as they took a 42-24 lead into the half.
In the second half, the Owls came out looking to claw their way back into the game. But the Bruins kept the lead and the crowd went crazy after Quez Fisher hammered home back to back dunks to help the Bruins stretch their lead to 52-30. The Owls finally found their scoring touch from beyond the arc as the team hit ten three-point shots throughout the second half. Freshman guard Jordan Gant led the charge with three-straight threes as the Owls began to creep closer to the Bruins lead.
With just over six minutes remaining, Owls forward Sean Gribble banked home a layup to pull the Owls within striking distance 71-62. But the Bruins again turned to Jayson Barnhart and the sophomore didn't disappoint as he scored key baskets to help the team keep the lead. Still, the Owls refused to relent and continued to knock down shots to make the game close. Clutch free throw shooting down the stretch helped the Bruins take the game 87-74.
"Overall it was a great win for us," Bruins Head Coach Neal Ring said. "We knew they were going to make a run on us and I was proud of our guys for standing strong to get the win. This is a big win for us and our guys are really buying into the process of what we are trying to do. We know our next one is going to be a tough game, but for now we are celebrating this win and look forward to preparing for the next one."
Jayson Barnhart led the Bruins with 21 points while Dustin Killough finished with 17, Justin Matthews scored 13, and Quez Fisher finished with 10. The Bruins dominated the rebounding margin 45-26 while doing a great job of taking care of the basketball as the team committed a season-low 13 turnovers in the win.
Next up, the Bruins will be on the road for a region matchup as they battle Piedmont International University on Tuesday night in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
