Box Score
The Bruins basketball team clawed their way to a gutsy win on Monday night as the team held off the Montreat College Cavaliers for a 90-88 win. Jayson Barnhart was one of the stories on the night as the forward finished with 22 points and 8 rebounds off the bench for the team. The Bruins improve to 12-17 on the season.
"I got in the locker room and you would have thought we lost," Bruins Coach Neal Ring said speaking of his team's demeanor after the win. "So I reminded the guys that we beat a good team tonight and we got a big win at home. We felt like last week we let some games slip away from us so we had a bad taste in our mouths coming into this one and wanted to end this game knowing we competed well and battled. I'm proud of the way our guys bounced back to get this win."
The two teams met earlier in the season in North Carolina, with the Cavaliers winning at home. The Bruins came into Monday's game on the heels of back to back tough losses on the road.
In the early stages, the two teams went back and forth with several lead changes. After Quez Fisher got into foul trouble, Jayson Barnhart entered the game and had an immediate impact in scoring and rebounding. He finished the first half with 14 points and 7 rebounds. As the half began to draw to a close, the Bruins had a slim lead. In their final possession before the half, the Bruins hopes of extended their lead were broken as the team turned the ball over allowing the Cavaliers to score on a break away and steal momentum with a 39-38 halftime lead.
As the Bruins came out for the second half, they were challenged by their coaches to play better. The team responded by storming out of the gate in the second half on a 13-3 run. Marshall Riddle and Justin Matthews caught fire fueling the team's run from the outside. Inside, Barnhart continued to drive the lane earning free throw trips to the line. The Bruins built the lead up to as high as 18 points with just over 6:00 minutes to go, but then the Cavaliers weren't done yet.
David Caldwell's three-point shooting kept the Cavaliers in the game. He shot 5-9 on his attempts and finished the game with 17 points. With just over three minutes to go, Caldwell hit a clutch three-pointer to cut the lead to 81-77. Dustin Killough later responded with a three-pointer of his own to extend the lead back to 84-78.
After cutting the lead back down to two points, freshman Nate Ellenwood hit four straight free throws to keep the Bruins in the lead. As time expired, Alonzo Mobley had an open look to send the game into OT but his shot rimmed out as the Bruins held on for the 90-88 win.
Jayson Barnhart led the team with 22 points and 8 rebounds on the night while Marshall Riddle scored 21 points and Justin Matthews had 18. The team shot an incredible 30-33 from the free throw line while shooting 46% from the floor.
Next up, the Bruins will travel to Georgia on Saturday afternoon for their final game of the regular season as they take on Life University.
