Box Score
The Bruins battled back in the final minutes to force overtime and then rode their momentum to capture a 98-90 win over the Johnson and Wales University Wildcats in Charlotte, North Carolina on Tuesday night.
Nate Ellenwood led the Bruins with a stellar performance as the sophomore guard had 25 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Dustin Killough had 17 points while Justin Matthews and Jayson Barnhart each finished with 16. With the win, the Bruins improve to 9-10 on the season and have now won five of their last six games.
Dustin Killough knocked down back to back shots and the Bruins were off and running with a 5-0 lead to begin the game. The Wildcats battled back from beyond the arc as the team hit seven threes throughout the first half as they stormed back to take the lead. Coach Uwarow pulled his starters as he hoped to get a spark in the team to respond. The Bruins bench would provide that spark as the subs brought the team back to within six 32-26.
As the first half came to a close, the Bruins were able to put together a run as they closed the half trailing 48-40. "Our bench gave us a huge momentum boost going into halftime," Bruins Head Coach Burton Uwarow said. "We had done such a good job defensively in our last game and didn't come out with that same energy on defense tonight."
In the second half, the Bruins cut into the lead but the Wildcats continued to maintain the upper hand. The Bruins defense began to tighten up as the team forced the Wildcats into tough looks from the field. At the midway points of the half, the Bruins trailed 60-59. The two teams continued to trade shots as the game continued. The fans knew this one would come down to the wire.
With just over three minutes to play, Robert Hobson knocked down a three point shot to give the Wildcats a 70-63 advantage. The Bruins looked to their captain Dustin Killough and the senior delivered with some big shots down the stretch to bring the Bruins back into it. After Killough made two free throws, the Bruins trailed 76-75 with just 14 seconds remaining. The Wildcats made one of two free throws as the score was 77-75, giving the Bruins one more possession to win or force overtime. Jayson Barnhart would tie the game with a layup with four seconds to go as the Bruins bench went crazy. The buzzer would send the game to overtime with the score tied 77-77.
In the overtime period, Justin Matthews made a layup and Nate Ellenwood hit a three pointer to put the Bruins up 82-79. That would be the last bucket the Bruins would score but the team would stay on top due to their near perfect performance from the free throw line as the Bruins shot 16-18 from the charity stripe in the overtime period. As a result, the team was able to hold off the Wildcats as they won 98-90.
"I'm proud of these guys," Coach Uwarow said. "Now we need to get some rest. We've had three straight weeks with three games so now it is time for us to get some rest and prepare for Friday."
The Bruins shot 55% from the field in the game and 31% from three point range. The Bruins finished the game 25-32 from the free throw line shooting 78% as a team. Nate Ellenwood led the free throw performance with 13-14 shooting from the line on the night.
Next up, the Bruins will return home for back to back region games this weekend. The team will welcome Pensacola Christian College on Friday night with tip-off at 7 p.m. in the Davis Field House.
