The BJU Bruins second half rally came up short as the team fell to the Montreat College Cavaliers 87-78 in the opening game of the 2018-2019 season.
Coming off their best season in program history and an appearance in the NCCAA national championship game, the BJU Bruins were eager to kick off the 2018-2019 season on Tuesday night. Chapman Harwood was excited to play after missing all of last season due to injury.
"It was a blessing to be able to play tonight," Harwood said. "It felt great to be on the court with my teammates again."
In the opening minutes of the game, Harwood drained two three-pointers to give the Bruins an early 6-0 advantage, drawing a big ovation from the hometown crowd.
The Bruins held the lead in the early stages, but the Cavaliers came back with slick shooting from the outside as the Bruins trailed 42-36 heading into the break. The Cavaliers made 8 three-pointers in the first half, three of them coming from Austin Butler who led the team with 13 first half points.
"Our perimeter defense is something we need to improve on," Bruins Head Coach Burton Uwarow said. "We allowed too many open threes in the first half of play."
The BJU Bruins defense did a great job in the second half limiting Montreat to 2-8 shooting behind the arc. Offensively, the team was able to close the gap but the Cavs made shots when they needed to as they kept the lead. With under six minutes to play, the Bruins had the opportunity to cut the lead to four. Instead, the Bruins fouled resulting in two made free throws and an 8-point lead for the Cavs. Although the Bruins showed improvement defensively, the Cavs still held a 76-70 lead with under two minutes remaining. Clutch free throws from Austin Butler and Darrian Patterson sealed a 87-78 win for the Cavaliers.
"We did a great job of limiting turnovers and executing the game-plan," Harwood said. "We had great communication on both ends of the floor."
Harwood led the Bruins with 29 points, scoring 19 in the second half. Jayson Barnhart finished with 16 points and freshman Jon Allen scored 11 off the bench. The BJU Bruins will be back in action Saturday as they take on Johnson University in Knoxville, Tennessee.
