Box Score
A 19-1 second half run by the Flying Fleet snapped the Bruins winning streak on Thursday night in Due South, South Carolina. The Bruins fell 84-66 and move to 7-10 on the season.
"If we expect to compete with some of the top teams at our level than we have to defend better," Bruins Head Coach Burton Uwarow said. "A team's identity is built around how they play defense and right now we crumble under pressure."
The Bruins and Flying Fleet met earlier in the 2017-18 season with the Bruins edging Erskine College 69-62. It has been a good start to the second half of the season for the Bruins as the team came into Thursday's matchup having won three of their last four games including a decisive 78-56 win over Piedmont International University on Monday night.
The Bruins came out strong from the opening tip as the team worked the ball around to find open looks. Dustin Killough knocked down a three point shot to give the Bruins a 14-4 lead just minutes into the game. The Fleet were back on their heels but fought their way back into the game as back to back three pointers closed the gap with the score 19-17. Jordan Watson then made a three point shot for the Fleet to give Erskine its first lead of the game with just over 8 minutes remaining in the half.
The two teams went back and forth with the Flying Fleet maintaining a slim lead. The Bruins fought back to tie the game 35-35 but back to back three pointers with under a minute remaining in the half gave the Flying Fleet a 41-35 lead at the break.
In the second half, the Bruins came out looking to regain the lead but the Fleet had other intentions as Erskine College went on a 19-1 run to stretch the lead to 59-40. Now it was the Bruins who were back on their heels and needed an answer to get back into the game. The Bruins were able to put together several small bursts of offense, but the deficit proved to be too much to overcome as the Bruins fell to the Flying Fleet 84-66.
"We have to dig deep," Coach Uwarow said. "We have to learn from this and prepare to face another tough matchup on Saturday."
Dustin Killough led the Bruins with 17 points while Nate Ellenwood finished with 16 points and 7 rebounds. Justin Matthews was the only other player to score in double figures with 12.
Next up, the Bruins will be back home at the Davis Field House as the team welcomes Warren Wilson College on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
