Box Score
The Bruins suffered their 5th loss of the season on Tuesday night as the Newberry Wolves seemingly couldn't miss from the three-point line as they defeated BJU 100-83. Newberry shot an impressive 64% from three-point range while going 22-34 from beyond the arc.
"No matter what defense we played, we really had trouble locating the other team's best shooters," Bruins Head Coach Burton Uwarow said. The Bruins were mostly playing a 2-3 zone and the Wolves kept working the ball to get open looks from the corner.
The two teams traded baskets early on as the Wolves took an early 14-9 lead. The Wolves rode the hot-hand of Rob Valentine as the senior guard knocked down five threes in the first half to help Newberry build a sizeable lead. At the break, the Bruins trailed 55-39.
In the second half, the Bruins came out strong as they cut into the Wolves lead. The scoring duo of Justin Matthews and Dustin Killough provided as spark as the team closed the gap in the second half to trail 63-52. The Wolves would respond as Valentine and company continued to rain threes as they built their lead.
With just under five minutes remaining, Valentine hit his tenth three pointer of the game to put the Wolves up 94-70. Newberry never looked back as they went on to defeat the Bruins 100-83.
"We need to remember that we had one of our best all around team last year and we still only had two wins going into Christmas," Coach Uwarow said. "It's important to keep that in our mind. We're learning lessons with each of these games which will prepare us for what we're going to face later on this season."
Dustin Killough led the Bruins with 29 points on the night while Justin Matthews finished with 22 points and 8 assists. Overall, it's been a rough start for the Bruins beginning the season with a 1-5 record. However, the competition has been incredibly tough with two NCAA DI and two NCAA DII programs on the Bruins schedule. Next up, the Bruins will be on the road Thursday night as they battle Southern Wesleyan University in Central, South Carolina.
