The BJU Bruins basketball team extended their winning streak to six wins in a row tonight with a 78-66 win over Columbia International University. The Bruins used the three-pronged scoring attack of Marshall Riddle, Quez Fisher and Dustin Killough as the team improves to 9-15 on the season. 

Both teams exchanged leads throughout the 1st half as the game would go back and forth all night long. The Rams jumped out to an early 8-3 lead in the first few minutes, but then BJU responded with a 23-10 run. During the run, Marshall Riddle scored the rare 4-point play which really gave the team a lot of momentum. Riddle kept the momentum going by ending the first half with a bang as he hit a three-pointer before the buzzer sounded to give BJU a 38-34 halftime lead. 

"The momentum of the game really changed at halftime," Bruins Head Coach Neal Ring said. "Marshall's shot gave us a huge lift going into the break and we kept that momentum the rest of the night."

The Bruins never looked back in the 2nd half as they kept the lead throughout the rest of the game. Big man Quez Fisher stepped up once again for BJU as he finished with 21 points and 9 rebounds while playing just 19 minutes in the game. After opening the game by missing his first two shots, Fisher bounced back and made his next 9 shot attempts as he dominated the paint for the Bruins.

"We knew we had an advantage inside," said Coach Ring. "Whenever you have the biggest horse in the barn you just have to just let him loose." 

The Bruins continued to pour it on as the team made key baskets down the stretch. Ryan Gibson led the way for Columbia International as he scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half. Damian Hurta was held to 8 points tonight after scoring 25 in the previous matchup between the two teams last semester. The win gives the Bruins their 6th in a row and seventh win in their last eight games. 

"We did a great job defensively tonight switching on screens," Bruins guard Dustin Killough said. "CIU is a great team and they made us work for it." 

Quez Fisher finished the night with 21 points while Dustin Killough scored 17 and Marshall Riddle finished with 14. The Bruins will be back in action on Tuesday night as they will travel to Charlotte, North Carolina to take on Johnson & Wales University. The next home game for BJU is Saturday, February 4th against College of Faith.