Box Score
The Bruins basketball team stormed out of the gate and never looked back as the team defeated Warren Wilson College 99-88 in Asheville, North Carolina. The win pushed the team's winning streak to seven in a row, second longest winning streak in program history. The victory at Warren Wilson College was also the first time the Bruins had defeated the Owls on their home floor.
"We had to gut it out to get this win tonight," Bruins Head Coach Burton Uwarow said. "This week we're playing two non-region games and it is two of the toughest games remaining on our schedule before the tournament. Our bigs came up big for us and we were able to set the tone early."
Earlier in the season, the Bruins had held off the Owls 87-79 at the Davis Field House which marked the beginning of the team's impressive run. Looking to spoil the Bruins winning ways, the Owls came out looking to avenge their earlier season loss.
Dustin Killough knocked down a pair of threes as the Bruins were off and running. The offense was firing on all cylinders as the team worked the ball around for open looks. Justin Matthews, Nate Ellenwood and Dustin Killough took care of the perimeter for the offense helping to spark the team to an early 31-12 lead. Despite their hot shooting on offense, defensively the team played well as they slowed the high-tempo Owls and forced them to take contested looks from the field.
With just under four minutes to play in the half, Justin Matthews knocked down a three-point bomb to give the Bruins a 55-26 lead. The Bruins continued to ride their momentum as they closed out the half with a dominant 61-35 lead.
In the second half, the Owls were determined to make a game of it as they hit several threes early on to cut into the Bruins' lead. Still, the Bruins kept the Owls at bay as they maintained the upper hand.
As the game began to draw to a close, the Owls began to rally as a 10-2 run with under five minutes remaining helped to bring WWC within striking distance 82-70. The Bruins wouldn't be denied as near perfect free throw shooting down the stretch secured a 99-88 road win.
"We know our offensive will go as our defense goes," Coach Uwarow said. "When we are playing good defense it feeds into our offense but when we struggle offensively it is usually because we are giving up easy looks on defense. We talked to our guys about improving with each game and tonight we were able to improve and overcome a lot to get the win."
The Bruins move to 14-10 on the season with the win. Next up, the team will welcome Johnson and Wales University to the Davis Field House on Thursday night.
