Box Score
Despite leading for much of the first half, the Bruins basketball team fell short against the North Greenville University Crusaders 94-84 in the season's home opener at the Davis Field House.
It was a great night offensively for the Bruins as the team shot 49% overall and 45% on three-pointers, making 10-22 attempts. This hot start helped give the Bruins an early 13-5 lead in the first half.
"It was one of those nights when everything seemed to go in," Bruins Captain Dustin Killough said. "We executed our offensive game plan really well and were able to get things going."
Foul trouble haunted the Bruins in the first half of play. Dustin Killough and Jayson Barnhart each had 2 fouls, forcing them to come out of the game. This gave the Crusaders a chance to cut into the Bruin lead. North Greenville answered with a 12-3 run over the next four minutes of action to take a 17-16 lead midway through the first half.
Daniel Burchette's 19 points and Tommy Wade's 16 points led the way for North Greenville offensively. Eleven of Wade's 16 points came in the first half, fueling the Crusaders to a 43-35 halftime lead.
"North Greenville is a tough team to play against," Bruins Head Coach Burton Uwarown said. "They have a lot of talented scorers, making them hard to stop defensively."
The Bruins came back fighting in the second half. Senior captain Dustin Killough scored 20 second half points leading the comeback. With under four minutes to play, the Bruins trailed 82-76. Senior guard Justin Matthews had a three pointer barely miss, and on the next possession North Greenville's Jalon Cokley made a clutch three to give the Crusaders a 85-76 lead. After making clutch free throws down the stretch, the Crusaders held on to win 94-84.
"I'm proud of our team's effort tonight despite the loss," Killough said. "We never gave up and continued to play hard."
Dustin Killough was the leading scorer tonight for the BJU Bruins with 23 points. Point guard Nate Ellenwood had 22 points and 9 assists and 6 rebounds while and Justin Matthews finished with 17 points. The Bruins will be back in action on Thursday as they travel to take on NCAA Division I opponent College of Charleston. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. in Charleston, South Carolina.
